Security, climate dominate as U.S. Secretary of State kicks off Africa tour

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his plane at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, U.S., November 16, 2021, en route to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. Andrew Harnik/ Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

NAIROBI (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony reiterated calls for an unconditional ceasefire in the Ethiopian conflict on Wednesday on the first leg of an African trip which will take in Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal.

Blinken also appealed to Sudan's military leaders to free prisoners taken in the coup there last month and to return to the path of democracy, saying some of the financial assistance that was frozen might be restored if civilian leadership returned.