Ethiopian Diaspora Reacts to Confirmed Reports of TPLF Looting

DENVER, Sept. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ethiopian American Civic Council (EACC) commends Sean Jones, mission director of USAID to Ethiopia, for confirming reports of looting of the USAID's warehouses by the Tigray People's Libération Front (TPLF).

On Monday, Aug. 30 Jones spoke to several media outlets regarding TPLF's involvement in looting the USAID's warehouses in the Tigray and Amhara regions. According to Jones, the TPLF looters stole trucks, food aid, and caused a great deal of destruction in several villages in the two regions. The looting significantly disrupted USAID's flow of aid in the affected areas.  

Fighting broke out between the TPLF and Ethiopian government forces in November 2020 when TPLF attacked one of the federal military bases in Tigray. 

"Despite an oppressive 27-year rule by the TPLF -- characterized by killings, use of child warriors, human rights violations, and free speech suppressions -- the international community has largely neglected the TPLF's history when analyzing the tragic conflict unfolding in Ethiopia's Tigray region," said EACC President Yoseph Tafari. "Jones' comments finally speak to the reality on-the-ground. We are encouraged to see the facts finally being reported by the head of the USAID mission in Ethiopia.    

"When in power, the TPLF regime embarked on a national campaign to incite ethnic conflict to divide and conquer Ethiopians. Today, TPLF is playing the same playbook. It is alarming that the US and the international community have chosen to treat the outlawed TPLF as equal to the democratically-elected government of Ethiopia."

The TPLF is designated as a terrorist group by the Ethiopian Parliament. The EACC calls upon the US Department of State to list TPLF as a terrorist group for violating international law in armed conflict. The United States must not allow this outlawed group to destabilize Ethiopia and the region; the TPLF must surrender immediately without any precondition.

The EACC strongly believes that the United States must be an honest broker in resolving the conflict in the Tigray region. We urge the United States to foster peace and democracy in Ethiopia consistent with its longstanding commitment to spread democracy and human rights throughout the world.

Ethiopian American Civic Council: Established in 2016, is one the largest and most diverse Ethiopian American diaspora community in the United States with approximately 750,000 members in all 50 states. The EACC represents all of the nearly 90 Ethiopian ethnic groups. The EACC is a US-based, 501(c) 4, nonprofit organization.

Contact: Monica McCafferty
[email protected]
303.903.3394

SOURCE Ethiopian American Civic Council (EACC)