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Seven Ethiopian Rebel Groups Form Alliance to Overthrow Government
Confirmed
In Short: Seven Ethiopian rebel groups have formed an alliance called the Alliance for Survival, aiming to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government.
Seven Ethiopian rebel groups have formed an alliance called the Alliance for Survival, aiming to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and establish a transitional administration.
The groups announced the alliance on Sunday, stating they would work together to set up an inclusive transitional government.
The alliance includes the Amhara Fano National Movement, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), among four smaller groups.
The coalition brings together groups from Amhara, Oromia, Tigray, Ogaden, Afar, and Benishangul-Gumuz regions, covering half of Ethiopia's 12 regional states.
The groups accuse Abiy's government of presiding over 'war, genocide, mass destruction, and utter poverty', claiming Ethiopia is at risk of disintegration.
The alliance's formation comes months after reports of an alleged alliance between TPLF and neighboring Eritrea.
The groups had been talking for about a year to form the alliance, according to a source close to Fano.
The announcement of the Alliance for Survival coalition comes as fighting continues in western Oromia, where clashes between armed groups and government and regional security forces have intensified in recent weeks.
Ethiopian academic Eyob Tilahun told Al Jazeera that the competing groups had agreed to have a dialogue and form an alliance 'in the best interests of the public'.
What's confirmed
- Seven Ethiopian armed groups have formed an alliance aimed at overthrowing the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
What's still developing
- Former adversaries say they will settle differences as fears grow of expanding war in Ethiopia.
- Abiy came to power in 2018 promising sweeping reforms.
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- The announcement came after several armed groups revealed in August and September efforts to coordinate their activities against the federal government, amid continued fighting in Amhara and Oromia and rising tensions in Tigray.
- In August, Fano leader Zemene Kassie announced that factions of the movement had united under a single leadership, saying groups representing several Ethiopian ethnicities and regions had formed an alliance to coordinate their activities against Abiy Ahmed’s government.
- On September 17, the Oromo Liberation Army said there was a distinction between broader cooperation among armed opposition forces and the groups fighting it in the Wollega area, calling on Amhara factions to clarify their position toward an armed group operating there.
- It noted that Fano began its rebellion against the government in April 2023 and that several of its factions had moved in recent months toward forming a more coordinated grouping under unified leadership.
- On September 18, the Ethiopian government announced that around 300 TPLF fighters had surrendered to federal forces, while the army said more than 280 individual and crew-served weapons, along with quantities of ammunition, had been handed over.
- AFP had previously reported that the Ethiopian government and the TPLF had deployed forces along the region’s borders in recent months, while the federal army carried out drone strikes in August and September targeting military positions in the area, according to data from ACLED, an organization specializing in conflict monitoring.
- Assefa added that the new alliances seek to change the federal government and pave the way for the formation of a transitional government.
- One month on, Tigray conflict remains localised but deadly amid drone strikes, border clashes “We just formed an alliance; we are collaborating with several groups and our objectives are to remove the regime and facilitate a transitional government,” Assefa told AFP.
- A separate report identified the new coalition as the Coalition for the Survival of Ethiopian Popular Forces (CSFPE).