7 Ethiopian Armed Groups Form Alliance to Overthrow Abiy Ahmed's Government

• Seven Ethiopian armed groups announced the formation of a new alliance on Sunday, uniting former enemies across ethnic and regional lines
• The alliance includes the TPLF and the Amhara Fano, groups that fought on opposite sides of the deadly 2020-2022 Tigray civil war
• Abiy Ahmed's spokesperson accused Eritrea of bankrolling the alliance, a claim Asmara has repeatedly denied in the past

Seven Ethiopian armed groups announced the formation of a coalition called the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival late on Sunday, declaring a shared goal of removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed from power.

The groups represent an ethnically diverse cross-section of the country, with a presence stretching from Tigray in the north to the Somali Region in the south.

The announcement was read out by Fano leader Zemene Kassie and broadcast on TPLF-controlled Tigrai TV, and was also published across the social media accounts of several member groups.

"We, the peoples' forces concerned with the survival of Ethiopia's peoples, bear the historic responsibility of overthrowing this regime," the statement read.

Former enemies now share a common cause

Among the most striking aspects of the alliance is the inclusion of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Amhara Fano National Movement — groups that were on opposing sides of the 2020–2022 Tigray war, a conflict that killed hundreds of thousands of people and was marked by widespread ethnic atrocities. Fano had fought alongside federal forces against the TPLF during that war, before turning its guns on the federal government in a separate conflict that has claimed thousands of lives in the Amhara region since 2023.

The coalition also draws in armed groups from the Oromia, Afar and Benishangul-Gumuz regions. Many of the member groups share a common grievance: that Abiy's administration has concentrated power at the centre while pushing the regions to the margins. The government maintains it has initiated a national dialogue to tackle long-running political divisions.

Government points finger at Eritrea

Abiy's spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, said the alliance was not a surprise, arguing that the groups had already been working together with financial support from Eritrea, Ethiopia's neighbour and longstanding rival. "The recent announcement is only attesting (to) what the Ethiopian government has been alleging time and again," she wrote in a text message on Monday. Eritrea's information ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Asmara has denied similar accusations on previous occasions.

On Monday, Ethiopia's media regulator issued a directive barring news outlets from using Tigrai TV as a source of information. The Ethiopian Media Authority's director general did not respond to a request for further comment.

Doubts over alliance's effectiveness

Analysts cautioned against overstating the coalition's immediate threat. Magnus Taylor of the International Crisis Group noted that while the formation would worry Abiy's government, it remained unclear whether the groups could work together in practice. "Attempts for its members to work together may be hamstrung by the weak nature of several of the groups, the geographical distances between them and political differences," he told Reuters.

The announcement follows recent reported clashes between federal and Tigrayan forces, drone strikes the Ethiopian military is said to have carried out against Tigrayan positions, and the TPLF's May decision to retake control of Tigray's political administration in breach of a 2022 peace agreement.