U.S. Ambassador Accuses TPLF of Large-Scale Offensive, Warns of Sanctions

U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin Massinga said on September 23 that leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front had launched what he called a large-scale offensive that day. His statement accused the group of rejecting African Union-facilitated dialogue under former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and warned other armed groups against joining the fighting. Massinga said the United States had sanctioned TPLF leaders earlier this year and that further sanctions remained possible. The embassy did not give casualty figures or specify where the alleged offensive began; responsibility for the fighting was not independently established in the statement.