Eritrea's foreign ministry has rejected the US sanctions on its army chief, describing them as "utterly baseless".

Filipos Woldeyohannes was accused of being in command of the forces in Ethiopia's Tigray region that carried out human rights abuses.

But Eritrea in its statement asked the US to table "facts to prove its false allegations".

Its foreign ministry asked the UN security council to intervene and ensure the sovereignty of nations is upheld.

The information minister tweeted the full statement:

https://twitter.com/hawelti/status/1429839815307108358

Under the sanction, all property owned by Gen Filipos will be blocked, and any business with them in the US is prohibited.

The US has called on Eritrea to withdraw its forces from Ethiopia.