U.S. will not hesitate to use sanctions to ensure Ethiopian ceasefire agreement is respected

The United States will not hesitate to use sanctions to ensure the Ethiopian ceasefire agreement is respected and abided by and to hold to account those responsible for human rights violations, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday.

Asked what would happen if Eritrean forces and fighters from the neighboring Amhara region do not withdraw from the Tigray region as agreed, the official said: "I don't want to get ahead of ourselves in terms of what will happen if these commitments aren't abided by," but added that sanctions are always a foreign policy tool at Washington's disposal.