Ethiopian Armed Groups Unite to Challenge Abiy Ahmed Government

Seven armed groups in Ethiopia just joined forces, coming together in a new coalition they’re calling the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival. Their message is clear: they want to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and replace it with a broad-based transitional government that includes everyone.

What’s striking is who’s in this alliance. Old enemies—like the Amhara Fano National Movement, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA)—now say they’re ready to put their differences aside. Along with them are four smaller groups: the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, the Benishangul Peoples’ Liberation Movement, and the Gumuz Peoples’ Democratic Movement.

These leaders accuse Abiy’s government of turning authoritarian and undoing earlier democratic reforms. They say he’s squeezed press freedom, shut down political space, and left the country dangerously divided. On top of that, the ongoing fighting in Oromia, Amhara, and Tigray has only made things worse.

Their announcement came just after fighting flared up again in Tigray, throwing the 2022 Pretoria peace deal into doubt. The TPLF recently declared that deal dead, saying nothing got fixed—especially when it comes to disarmament and their political status.

The new alliance says they’ll set up a transitional government with a guiding charter, promising to stop the wars, protect people’s rights, and bring everyone to the table for real national dialogue. But right now, the country’s at a crossroads. Observers warn that, without some kind of political breakthrough, things could spiral fast—possibly toward more violence and even breakup.

So far, the government hasn’t said anything in response. But analysts point out that seeing rivals unite like this shows just how deeply groups feel threatened by central power.