Seven Ethiopian armed and opposition groups, including the Amhara Fano National Movement and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), announced an alliance on Sunday to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government, Reuters reported.
The Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival also includes the Oromo Liberation Army, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front known as Ugugumo, the Benishangul Peoples’ Liberation Movement and the Gumuz Peoples’ Democratic Movement. Zemene Kassie of Fano read the founding statement on Tigrai TV. A source close to Fano told Al Jazeera the talks had run for about a year.
Fano fought alongside federal forces against Tigrayan fighters in the 2020 to 2022 war, and Amhara and Tigray still both claim Western Tigray. The TPLF declared the 2022 Pretoria agreement effectively dead in mid-July.
The founding statement calls the current system personalist and dictatorial and says the groups aim to install an inclusive transitional authority under a Transitional Charter, followed by a constitutional dialogue. The groups pledged to settle their own differences peacefully. On September 17, OLA channels had described the emerging understanding as a procedural consensus that did not settle every political question.
Government spokesperson Billene Seyoum told Reuters that alliance members had been collaborating with financial backing from Eritrea, which has denied similar accusations before. The Ethiopian Media Authority barred news outlets from using Tigrai TV as a source after the statement aired.
International Crisis Group analyst Magnus Taylor told Reuters the alliance would concern the federal Government, but that weak capacity in several groups, long distances and political differences could hamper joint operations.
Sources:
Al Jazeera Reuters Alliance for Survival statement via Qeerroo Bilisummaa Oromoo