Ethiopian Airlines denies transporting weapons for tigray war

Ethiopian Airlines Group denied it ferried arms to neighboring Eritrea, whose troops fought in the Tigray region.

The state-owned carrier was responding to a report by Cable News Network that it’s been shipping weapons from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, since the violence broke out in November. CNN’s report cited cargo documentation, manifests, photographs and eyewitness accounts.

“Ethiopian Airlines would like to confirm that to the best of its knowledge and its records, it has not transported any war armament in any of its routes by any of its aircraft,” Group Corporate Communications Manager Ali Mohammed said in an emailed response to questions.

Ethiopian Airlines is Africa’s biggest carrier and a major source of foreign currency for the Horn of Africa nation.  

U.S. President Joe Biden in September signed an executive order authorizing sanctions against individuals and entities prolonging the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. In August, the U.S. trade representative warned Ethiopia might lose eligibility to export goods under a duty- and quota-free trade deal known as the African Growth and Opportunity Act. 

The Tigray conflict has created a humanitarian and economic crisis, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and leaving more than 5.2 million people in need of aid.