To: President Joe Biden
Via: National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan
From: Mesfin Mekonen and 10 Concerned Ethiopian-American Civic Organizations
Subject: Averting Civil War in Ethiopia
Date: October 30, 2024
Mr. President,
I am writing on behalf of the Ethiopian-American community to alert you to the imminent danger of civil war in Ethiopia. As a longtime representative of our community, I previously corresponded with your office when you chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and today we reach out once again, profoundly concerned about Ethiopia’s deteriorating human rights situation.
The Ethiopian government’s recent use of drones to target and kill Amhara civilians has escalated this crisis. We urgently request that your administration intervene to prevent these attacks on civilians. The United Nations Human Rights Office has highlighted the “devastating impact of drone strikes and other violence on the population in the Amhara region” conducted by the Ethiopian National Defense Forces.
While the conflict between the Ethiopian government and Tigray rebels has received some media coverage in the U.S., there has been little attention given to the widespread violence targeting the Amhara people. The Ethiopian government has intensified attacks against its own citizens, displacing Amhara communities, and waging campaigns against the Orthodox Church and the free press. Journalists are being jailed, and reports from the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission document these human rights abuses in the Amhara region.
