US: Rubio urges restraint amid tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged de-escalation in the Horn of Africa during a phone call Wednesday with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Rubio urged dialogue under the 2018 Ethiopia-Eritrea peace agreement and said the region could not tolerate further conflict. Renewed fighting in Tigray has undermined the 2022 agreement that ended a two-year war; Ethiopia accuses Eritrean troops of occupying parts of its territory, while Eritrea has condemned what it called an Ethiopian declaration of war. Human Rights Watch reports that bombardments in southern Tigray have killed and injured civilians and forced some health facilities to close.