Washington warns: The situation in Ethiopia “could change at any moment”
Washington has recommended Americans to leave Ethiopia as soon as possible, amid growing concerns as armed conflict intensifies in that country.
“We have asked Americans to leave Ethiopia as soon as commercial flights are available,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a news conference.
She noted that the situation in Ethiopia “could change at any moment.”
“We made it clear to our citizens in Ethiopia not to expect a military evacuation,” she said.
Washington urged the Americans this week to leave Ethiopia, stressing that it would not be able to evacuate them if the security situation there deteriorated.
And the administration of US President Joe Biden imposed last week sanctions on the Eritrean army and the ruling party in Eritrea for their involvement in the ongoing conflict in northern Ethiopia, and Blinken warned that “Ethiopia may collapse from within.”
It also recommended this month that Ethiopia leave as soon as possible and announced that it would provide repatriation loans for those who do not have the funds to leave.
Tensions escalated in Ethiopia after reports that Ethiopian authorities detained hundreds of Tigray residents, including some United Nations and African Union staff, days after the government declared a state of emergency.
Ethiopia’s Civil Aviation Authority said any flight flying in the country’s airspace, including through Addis Ababa International Airport, was “safe and secure”.
For its part, Ethiopia criticized the United States issuing a security alert for pilots of flights to and from Ethiopia, in light of the ongoing armed conflict there.
She added: “The warning issued and circulated by the media is false and contradicts reality, and we assure the users of our airspace and our airports that we will not be lenient in ensuring their security and safety, and we are taking every effort to ensure that flights are organized in a safe and sound manner as in the past.”
