Hoax post falsely claims the US imposed sanctions on Ethiopia over failed peace talks

The Facebook post was published in Afaan Oromoo on November 22, 2023 – a day after the warring parties announced (archived here) that the peace talks hosted in Tanzania ended without agreement.

“According to reliable sources, America has imposed new sanctions on Ethiopia for opposing and disrupting the recent peace talks between the OLA and the Ethiopian government,” reads the post, which has been shared more than 110 times.

Image

Screenshot of the false post, taken on December 6, 2023

OLA refers to the Oromo Liberation Army, a rebel force operating in Oromia, the largest region in Ethiopia.

US involvement in peace talks

The failed negotiations in Dar es Salaam were attended by the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer.

Hammer presented his observations to the US Congress’s Foreign Affairs Committee on November 30, 2023 (archived here)

“Both the government of Ethiopia and OLA need the courage to end the conflict peacefully. The talks were difficult. It was difficult to yield what the people of Oromia expected from Dar es Salaam but progress was made. But, we are committed to try and see a peaceful resolution to this conflict,” he said during his testimony.

Unlike what the Facebook post claimed, no fresh US sanctions have been announced against Ethiopia.

Hoax post

The US embassy in Addis Ababa confirmed to AFP Fact Check that the post was a hoax.

“The post is not from the United States government. We have recognised such fake and scamming messages and publicly posted a warning via our postings on Facebook and Twitter,” the embassy told AFP Fact Check by email.

The sanctions against Ethiopia are listed on the official website (archived here) of the US Treasury Department. AFP Fact Check has reviewed the list of sanctions and found no new entries were added against Ethiopia in November 2023.

US sanctions

The US imposed multiple sanctions against Ethiopia over the conflict in the Tigray region that ended in November 2022.

The war pitted Ethiopian federal government allies against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

In September 2021, US President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14046 (archived here) which authorised a wide range of sanctions against Ethiopian entities and individuals accused of “serious human rights abuse” in the country. This was renewed in September 2023 (archived here).

In January 2022, the Biden administration removed (archived here) Ethiopia from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) that allows duty-free access to the US market. Ethiopia has not returned to the AGOA since.

In June 2023, the US lifted (archived here) some of the restrictions on aid to Ethiopia after bilateral relations improved following a peace agreement signed between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF in November 2022.

AFP Fact Check has previously debunked false posts related to the US in Ethiopia here and here.