US Drops Eritrea Sanctions as Red Sea Stakes Soar

 The United States has lifted sanctions imposed on Eritrea during the devastating Tigray war in Ethiopia, citing changing regional interests amid heightened tensions around the Red Sea.

 The US State Department said President Donald Trump decided not to renew the sanctions, which were originally imposed in November 2021 on Eritrean military forces, President Isaias Afwerki’s ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, and other state-linked actors.

 Washington had accused Eritrean forces of involvement in serious abuses during the Tigray conflict, in which Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopian federal forces against Tigrayan rebels.

 The war ended in 2022 with a peace agreement, although the humanitarian consequences remain severe. Estimates cited put the death toll at around 600,000, with hundreds of thousands still displaced.

 The latest US decision comes as the Red Sea assumes greater strategic importance amid conflict and disruption across the Middle East. The region includes vital maritime routes linking the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean, while instability around Yemen has threatened shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

 The US Treasury said the national emergency underpinning the Eritrea sanctions had expired.

 Eritrea welcomed the move. Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel told Reuters that the sanctions had been unjustified and welcomed what he described as corrective action by Washington.

 A US State Department spokesperson said implementation of the Tigray peace agreement had been uneven, but argued that current circumstances warranted a new approach focused on engagement with Ethiopia and Eritrea.

 The decision signals a shift in Washington’s approach to the Horn of Africa as strategic competition and security concerns intensify around the Red Sea.