Seven Ethiopian rebel groups have announced they have formed an alliance to remove the government in Addis Ababa and push for a transitional administration.

📻 Breaking It Down

The alliance brings together the Fano militia in Amhara, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and four other smaller groupings in a coalition named Alliance for Survival.

The groups accuse Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government of presiding over “war, genocide, mass destruction, and utter poverty”, claiming Ethiopia is at risk of disintegration.

Ethiopia has faced years of armed conflict in Oromia and Amhara, the most populous states in the country.

📌 What You Need to Know

There have also been renewed tensions in the northern Tigray region, where a two-year civil war left hundreds of thousands dead and displaced millions.

An African-Union peace deal ended that war in 2022, but there have been fears of a return to a full-scale conflict, with both sides accusing each other of violating that agreement.

Besides Oromia, Amhara and Tigray, the new alliance also includes groups based in three other regions – Ogaden, Afar and Benishangul-Gumuz – making up a half of Ethiopia’s 12 regional states.

Amhara’s Fano group fought alongside federal forces during the Tigray war.

It however turned against the federal government in an armed insurgency less than a year after the war ended, after refusing government orders to disarm.

The announcement of the Alliance for Survival coalition comes months after reports of an alleged alliance between TPLF and neighbouring Eritrea.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya