Ethiopian armed groups forge alliance against government

Former adversaries say they will settle differences as fears grow of expanding war in Ethiopia.Seven Ethiopian armed groups have formed an alliance aimed at overthrowing the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.The groups announced the alliance on Sunday, saying that they would work together to set up an inclusive transitional government.Recommended Stories list of 2 itemslist 1 of 2More than 112,000 displaced by Yemen fighting; thousands flee to Djiboutilist 2 of 2US lifts sanctions on Eritrea ‘to advance US regional interests’ in Red Seaend of list“We have established a joint alliance called the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, known in short as the Alliance for Survival,” the groups said in a joint statement.The alliance includes the Amhara Fano National Movement, a coalition of Fano factions that has fought federal forces in the Amhara region since 2023; the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades before Abiy took office; and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which has fought federal forces in Oromia since 2018.Four smaller groups – the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (Ugugumo), the Benishangul Peoples’ Liberation Movement and the Gumuz Peoples’ Democratic Movement – make up the rest.Abiy Ahmed has served as Ethiopia’s prime minister since 2018, when he came to power promising sweeping reforms. [File: Reuters]The groups’ leaders had been talking to form the alliance for about a year, a source close to Fano told Al Jazeera on Sunday.The announcement comes weeks after clashes in the northern region of Tigray, one of the most serious breaches yet of a 2022 peace deal, deepened fears of a return to full-scale war.Fighting has gripped parts of Oromia since 2018 and Amhara since 2023.