“This includes those who have conducted wrongful violence or other abuses against people in the Tigray region of Ethiopia as well as those who have hindered access of humanitarian assistance to those in the region,” Mr Blinken said.
“Should those responsible for undermining a resolution of the crisis in Tigray fail to reverse course, they should anticipate further actions from the United States and the international community. We call on other governments to join us in taking these actions.”
He also announced that Washington has “imposed wide-ranging restrictions on economic and security assistance to Ethiopia and will bring our defence trade control policy in line with them” while vowing to continue to provide humanitarian support.
Ethiopia has blocked telephone and internet access in Tigray while restricting journalists from entering and has also blocked the UN from providing humanitarian aid.
The Tigray Centre for Information and Communication is also lobbying the White House to levy the sanctions and is asking the House of Representatives to pass a similar resolution.
The centre has hired Karl Von Batten, head of the consulting firm Von Batten-Montague-York, to make its case to the administration of President Joe Biden and to Congress.
“We can’t stand by and watch innocent civilians raped, shot and massacred and killed,” Mr Von Batten told