World Politics Review published on 27 August 2021 a commentary titled "The U.S. Needs Sharper Tools to Stop the War in Ethiopia" by Cameron Hudson, Atlantic Council.
So far, US efforts to stop the conflict in Ethiopia have consisted only of limited visa restrictions on officials on all sides, withholding new investment guarantees, and delaying new funding for multilateral development projects. The author argues it is time for the US to impose real costs on the contending parties, including an arms embargo and an effort to seek a UN Security Council arms embargo. He adds it should also put sanctions on more individuals and companies, possibly including Ethiopian Airways and the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, that are implicated in the conflict.
Comment: The problem with this approach is that the government of Ethiopia would face most of the sanctions and it is questionable whether the sanctions would help end the conflict anyway. At the same time, all sides to the conflict need to be jolted back to the reality that they are tearing Ethiopia apart. The current trajectory will lead to losers everywhere; there will be no winners.
