US slams Ethiopian Airlines scandal

The Biden administration has described a CNN report that Ethiopian Airlines shuttled weapons to Eritrea as ‘incredibly grave’ and warned that it was prepared to impose sanctions on Ethiopia and any other parties who prolonged the conflict in Tigray. CNN last week revealed that the Ethiopian Government used its state-owned commercial carrier to move weapons to and from neighbouring Eritrea during the first weeks of the conflict. It is the first time this weapons trade between the former foes has been documented during the nearly year-long war in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region. Reacting to the investigation, a senior US administration official said: ‘These allegations are incredibly grave; not only could they constitute a potential violation of the Chicago Convention (on international civil aviation). The use of civilian aircraft to ferry military hardware upends norms and endangers passenger craft around the world.’