9 Ethiopian factions allied to remove Abi Ahmed
Nine anti-government factions in Ethiopia announced the formation of an alliance today, Friday, coinciding with mounting pressure on Prime Minister Abi Ahmed and the advance of rebel forces towards the capital, Addis Ababa, according to Reuters.
The agency quoted the Oromo Liberation Army and the Ajaw Democratic Movement as confirming the announcement.
Spokesmen for the government and the State Department did not respond to agency requests for comment about the coalition.
The alliance is taking shape as US special envoy Jeffrey Feltman meets top government officials in the Ethiopian capital amid calls for an immediate ceasefire and talks to end a war that has killed thousands since November 2020.
The new coalition, called the United Front of the Ethiopian Federal Forces, seeks to "establish a transitional arrangement in Ethiopia" so that the prime minister can leave as quickly as possible, Yohannes Abraha, one of the organizers, from the Tigray Group, told The Associated Press.
"The next step, of course, will be to start meeting and communicating with states, diplomats and international actors in Ethiopia and abroad," Abraha added.
He added that the new alliance is political and military, noting that the alliance had not had any contact with the government of Ethiopia.
The OLA spokesperson, Oda Tarabi, also confirmed the news of the new alliance.
When asked if this means that Abiy will be forced to leave, he told The Associated Press that it depends on the government of Ethiopia and events in the coming weeks.
"Of course we prefer if there is a peaceful and orderly transition with my father removed," he said.
For her part, the Prime Minister’s spokeswoman, Belen Seyoum, hinted at the new alliance Thursday night when she tweeted that “any people living abroad who rejected the democratic processes that Ethiopia has initiated cannot be supportive of the democratic transition,” referring to Abiy’s opening of space. the politician after taking office in 2018. His reforms included welcoming the return of some opposition groups from exile.
The spokeswoman said she had no further comments on Friday, and had no information on whether the prime minister would meet with the US special envoy.
A spokesperson for the Oromo Liberation Army, in response to her tweet, indicated that some people who returned to Ethiopia were later placed in prison or under house arrest.
The alliance also includes: the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, the Agha Democratic Movement, the Benishangul People's Liberation Movement, the Gambella People's Liberation Army, the International Kimani People's Justice and Right Movement/Kimant Democratic Party, the Sidama National Liberation Front, and the Resistance of the Somali State.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news