Seven Ethiopian armed groups, including former enemies from the country’s 2020–2022 civil war, have announced a new alliance aimed at removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
The coalition, known as the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival or Alliance for Survival, was announced on Sunday. Its members include the Amhara Fano National Movement, Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The alliance also includes the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, also known as Ugugumo, Benishangul Peoples’ Liberation Movement and Gumuz Peoples’ Democratic Movement. The groups operate across several regions, stretching from Tigray in the north to the Somali region in the south.
In their joint statement, the groups accused Abiy’s government of concentrating power and marginalising Ethiopia’s regions. They also made severe allegations against the government, accusing it of contributing to conflict, destruction and poverty. Those claims have not been independently established.
The alliance brings together groups that have previously fought one another. Fano, for example, fought alongside federal forces against the TPLF during the Tigray war before launching an insurgency against the federal government in Amhara after the conflict ended.
Ethiopia continues to face armed conflict in Amhara and Oromia. Tensions have also resurfaced in Tigray, where a 2022 African Union-backed peace agreement ended a devastating two-year war.
