Ethiopia has declared seven UN officials as persona non grata, effectively ordering them to leave the country within 72 hours, according to a tweet from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
.@mfaethiopia declared ”persona non grata” for seven individuals who have been working for some #UN humanitarian agencies in #Ethiopia for meddling in the internal affairs of the country. They must leave the country within the next 72 hrs. 30 September 2021 pic.twitter.com/IDHv6AD145
— MFA Ethiopia?? (@mfaethiopia) September 30, 2021
The expulsion comes two days after the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ chief Martin Griffiths said that the three-month-long government “de-facto blockade” on Ethiopia’s Tigray region is restricting aid deliveries needed in the war-torn region.
Fighting broke out ten months ago between Ethiopia’s federal troops and forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front which controls the region.
Thousands have lost their lives in the conflict and more than two million people have been forced to flee their homes.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement posted on the UN’s website that he was “shocked” by the expulsions, adding that “We are now engaging with the Government of Ethiopia in the expectation that the concerned UN staff will be allowed to continue their important work.”
Five of the seven people being expelled work for OCHA, while a sixth works for UNICEF and the seventh works for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which is conducting an investigation with Ethiopia’s human rights commission into reports of civilian abuses in Tigray.
Ethiopian forces previously accused aid workers of favoring Tigray forces and even arming them, although no evidence was provided to support their accusations.
White House secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Thursday that the United States will not hesitate to use sanctions against those trying to obstruct humanitarian efforts.
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