Seven Ethiopian Opposition Groups Form Alliance to Challenge PM Abiy
Seven Ethiopian opposition factions have united as the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival, aiming to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Seven opposition groups in Ethiopia have joined forces in a new coalition aimed at unseating Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, according to an announcement made on Sunday.
The alliance, named the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival, brings together the Amhara Fano National Movement, the Oromo Liberation Army, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, the Benishangul Peoples' Liberation Movement and the Gumuz Peoples' Democratic Movement.
A spokesman for the TPLF, Michael Asgedom, said the group's collaboration with other factions would span both political and military spheres. He indicated that joint military operations might become necessary to achieve the goal of removing what he described as a dictatorial regime. Asked whether the TPLF's involvement in the alliance contravened the peace agreement signed in November 2022, Asgedom said the accord was no longer valid.
The TPLF's leadership had previously fought federal forces in the deadly northern conflict that concluded with that peace deal.
Zemene Kassie, chairman of the Amhara Fano National Movement, appeared on Tigray TV on Sunday to announce the new alliance. He accused the federal government of overseeing widespread insecurity, armed conflict, displacement, poverty and gross human rights abuses.
In response, the Ethiopian Media Authority said on Monday that Tigray TV was an illegal entity and accused it of promoting insurgency.
Beyond the Tigray conflict, federal authorities have contended with unrest in the Amhara and Oromia regions. Abiy's Prosperity Party retained power in June's general election, which the main opposition groups boycotted.
It remains unclear how closely the seven groups will coordinate in pursuit of their stated objective of ousting Abiy, who became prime minister in 2018 and received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to reconcile with neighbouring Eritrea.
After ties between the two countries improved, Eritrean forces fought alongside Ethiopian troops against TPLF loyalists in 2020. Relations have since soured, partly over Abiy's push for sovereign access to Eritrea's port of Assab. Ethiopia has also accused Eritrea of backing rebel groups operating within its territory.