Blinken presses Ethiopia's Abiy to ensure full withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Tigray

FILE PHOTO: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali delivers his speach during the awarding ceremony in Oslo City Hall, Norway December 10, 2019. NTB Scanpix/Stian Lysberg Solum via REUTERS

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Monday and pressed for Eritrean troops involved in the Tigray conflict to be withdrawn "immediately, in full, and in a verifiable manner," according to a statement.

Blinken noted that Eritrean forces and Amhara regional forces in the conflict-torn region are contributing to the growing humanitarian disaster and committing human rights abuses, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in the statement describing the phone call.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks about climate change at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Annapolis, Maryland, U.S., April 19, 2021. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS

(Reporting by Simon Lewis and Daphne Psaledakis)