Wang Yi, the Foreign Minister in China, says the country will appoint a special envoy to the Horn of Africa region.  

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The region designated as the Horn of Africa is the easternmost part of the continent that includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. Ethiopia and Eritrea have been fighting forces from the Tigray region of Ethiopia and Somalia as part of a political crisis caused by a delayed election.  

While visiting Kenya, Yi urged countries in the region to hold a peace conference and said China’s envoy would be able to provide “necessary support.”  

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China has special interests in the region due to its military base in Djibouti. Additionally, the country is also the largest foreign direct investor in Ethiopia, whose economy has been suffering due to spending on war.  

The United States also has a special envoy for the region, Jeffrey Feltman. The U.S. State Department said the challenges in the Horn of Africa “demand sustained focus from the United States,” according to the Associated Press.  

On Nov. 2, one year after conflict began between Ethiopia’s federal government and forces with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the nation declared a state of emergency. The designation is set to last for six months. During that time, suspects can be detained without trial and house-to-house arrests can be conducted without a warrant, BNC previously reported.  

RELATED: Amnesty Report Describes Axum Massacre in Ethiopia’s Tigray 

The war in the region has resulted in the death of thousands of people and created a large humanitarian crisis. Human rights groups say ethnic Tigrayans have been detained, and Ethiopia’s government says it is targeting people suspected of supporting Tigray’s forces in Somalia.  

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