Eritrea: Washington lifts sanctions imposed on military in 2021

The United States lifted sanctions against the Eritrean Defense Forces and other entities in the country on Friday, September 18, nearly five years after they were placed on the U.S. list of blocked individuals and organizations during the Tigray war in Ethiopia.

The withdrawal is reflected in an update from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Treasury agency responsible for sanctions. The Eritrean Defense Forces were added to the list in November 2021 under Executive Order 14046, which pertains to the humanitarian crisis and human rights violations related to the Ethiopian conflict.

This decision comes as Washington is paying increased attention to the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a major route for global maritime trade. Eritrea has a long coastline along this strategic route, facing the Arabian Peninsula.

In 2021, the U.S. Treasury also sanctioned the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, the ruling party in Eritrea, as well as Hidri Trust and Red Sea Trading Corporation. At that time, U.S. authorities accused Eritrean forces of being involved in the violence during the war in northern Ethiopia.

Reuters reports that the U.S. administration views this lifting of sanctions as likely to promote rapprochement with Asmara amid regional tensions surrounding the Red Sea. Eritrea’s ministries of Information and Defense had not immediately responded to the announcement.