US envoy returns to Ethiopia as situation in Tigray worsens

Biden administration faces criticism over inefficacy of its diplomacy and having no road map for peace

Mike Hammer's trip comes after a ceasefire between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front collapsed last August. AFP

The administration of US President Joe Biden is sending its envoy for the Horn of Africa back to Ethiopia, as the situation worsens and Washington struggles to reinforce a ceasefire.

Special envoy Mike Hammer will return to the region for the second time in a month “as part of ongoing US diplomatic efforts to achieve an immediate cessation of hostilities in northern Ethiopia and support the launch of African Union-led peace talks”, the State Department said.

M Hammer's two-week trip began in Kenya on Monday and he will continue to South Africa and Ethiopia from there.

He will meet Kenyan and African Union officials, with both the country and the pan-African body involved in mediation efforts in Ethiopia.

He will then head to Pretoria to follow up on talks held in Washington last week during the US-South Africa Working Group on African and Global Issues.

In Addis Ababa, the US envoy will meet Ethiopian officials, as well as UN representatives and others delivering humanitarian assistance to the region, the Biden administration said.

His trip comes after a ceasefire between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) collapsed last August.

Forces from neighbouring Eritrea and allied regional militias continue to fight alongside the Ethiopian army against the TPLF.

Captive Ethiopian soldiers arrive at the Mekele Rehabilitation Centre in Tigray, Ethiopia, after a four-day journey from Abdi Eshir. All photos: AFP

Women welcome Tigray People's Liberation Front fighters as they return to Mekele after seizing control of the city in June 2021.

Ethiopians who fled the Tigray conflict wait to charge their phones at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, Sudan.

A member of the Afar Special Forces stands in front of the debris of a house on the outskirts of the village of Bisober in Tigray.

People hold candles and Ethiopian flags at a memorial service for the victims of the Tigray conflict in Addis Ababa.

An Ethiopian refugee who fled fighting in Tigray waits behind a fence in a camp in Sudan.

Refugees living in a camp in Sudan after fleeing violence in Tigray.

A woman walks among the remains of a destroyed factory in Ataye, Ethiopia, where more than 100 civilians died in a recent flare-up of violence.

Two members of the Amhara militia ride in the back of a pick-up truck. Amharas and Tigrayans were uneasy neighbours before the current fighting, with tension over land sparking violent clashes.

Militias from the Amhara region have been involved in the fighting in Tigray.

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians gather at a rally organised by the mayor of Addis Ababa to show support for the military's efforts in Tigray.

Zeleke Alabachew, farmer and militia fighter, tends to his land near the village of Tekeldengy, Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation.

People celebrate the liberation of opposition leaders in the city of Alamata, Ethiopia.

A family fleeing violence sit in a former classroom at May Weyni secondary school, now hosting 10,500 displaced people, in Mekele, capital of Tigray.

Ethiopian refugees travel to Sudan to escape violence in Tigray.

Ethiopian refugees gather to celebrate the 46th anniversary of the Tigray People's Liberation Front at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, Sudan. The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics before being ousted from their regional stronghold last year.

An Ethiopian refugee sets up a tent in a camp in the town of Gedaref, Sudan, after being transported from the border reception centre.

Pro-Tigrayan demonstrators display placards during a protest in front of the chancellery in Berlin.

The aftermath of heavy shelling in Wukro, a city north of Mekele, in Ethiopia.

Satellite images captured by Maxar Technologies last week show a build-up of Ethiopian and Eritrean forces along the border and near the Tigray region.

The renewal of hostilities is exacerbating an already dire situation, the UN has said, with the World Food Programme estimating that 13 million people need food aid across northern Ethiopia.

“The situation on the ground now is as bad as it has ever been, perhaps even worse,” said Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

A satellite image from Maxar Technologies purportedly shows unidentified military forces mobilised in the town of Sheraro, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, on September 26. Maxar Technologies / AP

“We are hearing reports of hundreds of thousands of troops being mobilised and tens of thousands of battlefield deaths on both sides.

"That's in addition to the dire humanitarian situation in Tigray that has 90 per cent of the population listed as food insecure.”

While Mr Hammer’s trip signals increasing engagement from Washington, the Biden administration has come under criticism over the inefficacy of its diplomacy and having no road map for peace.

“This trip gives the impression that Washington is working hard, but I question whether we [the US] are working smart,” Mr Hudson told The National.

Mother Roman Kidanemariam, 35, holds her malnourished daughter, Merkab Ataklti, 22 months old, in the treatment tent of a medical clinic in the town of Abi Adi, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo

Gebre Kidan Gebrehiwet, 2, is treated for malnutrition after fleeing from the town of Abi Adi with his mother, Abeba Tesfay, at the Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo

Birhan Etsana, 27, from Dengelat, uses a nasogastric tube to feed her malnourished baby, Mebrhit, who at 17 months old weighs just 5.2 kilograms (11 pounds and 7 ounces), at the Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo

Abeba Gebru, 37, from the village of Getskimilesley, sits with her malnourished daughter, Tigsti Mahderekal, 20 days old, in the treatment tent of a medical clinic in the town of Abi Adi, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo

An Ethiopian woman scoops up portions of yellow split peas to be allocated to waiting families after it was distributed by the Relief Society of Tigray in the town of Agula, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo

Displaced Tigrayan women sit in a metal shack to eat food donated by local residents at a reception center for the internally displaced in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo

A woman stands in line to receive food donations at the Tsehaye primary school, which was turned into a temporary shelter for people displaced by conflict, in the town of Shire, Tigray region. Reuters

Tigrayans stand in line to receive food donated by local residents at a reception center for the internally displaced in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo

An Ethiopian woman leaves with a portion of yellow split peas after it was distributed by the Relief Society of Tigray in the town of Agula, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo

Displaced Tigrayans queue to receive food donated by local residents at a reception center for the internally displaced in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. AP Photo

The US approach for the past few months has been to offer backing for the AU process — which is now on life support.

“The stops in Kenya and South Africa [for Mr Hammer] both appear aimed at enlisting the support of powerful AU members states to help jump-start a process that has manifestly failed to end fighting or increase humanitarian access,” Mr Hudson said.

A former member of the George W Bush administration, he urged the Biden team to use its “diplomatic toolkit”, including punitive measures on the parties fuelling the war.

“There has been virtually no personal diplomatic involvement by [Secretary of State Antony] Blinken or the president in the last year,” Mr Hudson said.

Mr Hammer is the third envoy the Biden administration has named to the region, after the resignations of Jeffrey Feltman and David Satterfield this year.