UPDATE 1 — US removes sanctions on Eritrean Defense Forces, Treasury website shows

(Adds details, background) WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) — The Trump administration lifted sanctions on Eritrean Defense Forces and other entities in Eritrea on Friday in a move analysts have said could boost US ties to the African nation given its strategic location along the Red Sea shipping route. The move, announced in a notice posted on the Department of Treasury's website, comes amid the ongoing and expanding war in the Middle East and renewed focus on the Red Sea where Eritrea's coastline is opposite Saudi Arabia. Reuters previously reported that Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's administration was planning to remove the sanctions, citing an internal government document. The administration of Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden had imposed sanctions in 2021 against Eritrea's ruling party and military as well as senior Eritrean officials for their role in a war in neighboring Ethiopia, where Eritrean forces backed Ethiopian troops fighting regional authorities in the northern Tigray region. The Eritrean information and defense ministers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Ammu Kannampilly; writing by Susan Heav