Tigray, other groups form alliance against Ethiopian leader
AP Photo
CARA ANNA
Thu, November 4, 2021
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia’s Tigray forces are joining with other armed and opposition groups in an alliance against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to seek a political transition after a year of devastating war, organizers say.
The signing in Washington on Friday includes the Tigray forces that have been fighting Ethiopian and allied forces, as well as the Oromo Liberation Army now fighting alongside the Tigray forces and seven other groups from around the country.
The alliance is forming as U.S. special envoy Jeffrey Feltman is in Ethiopia’s capital meeting with senior government officials amid calls for an immediate cease-fire and talks to end the war that has killed thousands of people since November 2020. The U.S. said he met with the deputy prime minister and defense and finance ministers on Thursday.
The new United Front of Ethiopian Federalist Forces seeks to “establish a transitional arrangement in Ethiopia” so the prime minister can go as soon as possible, organizer Yohanees Abraha, who is with the Tigray group, told The Associated Press late Thursday. “The next step will be, of course, to start meeting and communicating with countries, diplomats and international actors in Ethiopia and abroad.”
He said the new alliance is both political and military. It has had no communication with Ethiopia’s government, he added.
CARA ANNA
Thu, November 4, 2021
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia’s Tigray forces are joining with other armed and opposition groups in an alliance against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to seek a political transition after a year of devastating war, organizers say.
The signing in Washington on Friday includes the Tigray forces that have been fighting Ethiopian and allied forces, as well as the Oromo Liberation Army now fighting alongside the Tigray forces and seven other groups from around the country.
The alliance is forming as U.S. special envoy Jeffrey Feltman is in Ethiopia’s capital meeting with senior government officials amid calls for an immediate cease-fire and talks to end the war that has killed thousands of people since November 2020. The U.S. said he met with the deputy prime minister and defense and finance ministers on Thursday.
The new United Front of Ethiopian Federalist Forces seeks to “establish a transitional arrangement in Ethiopia” so the prime minister can go as soon as possible, organizer Yohanees Abraha, who is with the Tigray group, told The Associated Press late Thursday. “The next step will be, of course, to start meeting and communicating with countries, diplomats and international actors in Ethiopia and abroad.”
He said the new alliance is both political and military. It has had no communication with Ethiopia’s government, he added.
People play with a ball in the Piazza old town area of the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Urgent new efforts to calm Ethiopia's escalating war are unfolding Thursday as a U.S. special envoy visits and the president of neighboring Kenya calls for an immediate cease-fire while the country marks a year of conflict. (AP Photo)
A spokesman for the Oromo Liberation Army, Odaa Tarbii, confirmed the new alliance. When asked whether it meant to force Abiy out, he replied that it depended on Ethiopia's government and events over the coming weeks. “Of course we prefer if there's a peaceful and orderly transition with Abiy being removed,” he said.
“The goal is to be as inclusive as possible. We know this transition requires all stakeholders,” he added. But as for members of the prime minister's Prosperity Party, “there would have to be a process. Many members would have to go through investigation, possibly be prosecuted” for crimes related to the war.
The spokeswoman for the prime minister, Billene Seyoum, addressed the new alliance Thursday evening when she tweeted that “any outliers that rejected the democratic processes Ethiopia embarked upon cannot be for democratization,” pointing out Abiy’s opening-up of political space after taking office in 2018. His reforms included welcoming some opposition groups home from exile.
The spokeswoman said she had no further comment Friday, and had no information on whether the prime minister would be meeting with the U.S. special envoy.
The OLA spokesman in reply to her tweet noted that some of the people who returned to Ethiopia were later put in prison or under house arrest. “A lot of goodwill was lost over the last three years,” he said.
Other groups signing on Friday include the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, Agaw Democratic Movement, Benishangul People’s Liberation Movement, Gambella Peoples Liberation Army, Global Kimant People Right and Justice Movement/ Kimant Democratic Party, Sidama National Liberation Front and Somali State Resistance, according to organizers.
“The goal is to be as inclusive as possible. We know this transition requires all stakeholders,” he added. But as for members of the prime minister's Prosperity Party, “there would have to be a process. Many members would have to go through investigation, possibly be prosecuted” for crimes related to the war.
The spokeswoman for the prime minister, Billene Seyoum, addressed the new alliance Thursday evening when she tweeted that “any outliers that rejected the democratic processes Ethiopia embarked upon cannot be for democratization,” pointing out Abiy’s opening-up of political space after taking office in 2018. His reforms included welcoming some opposition groups home from exile.
The spokeswoman said she had no further comment Friday, and had no information on whether the prime minister would be meeting with the U.S. special envoy.
The OLA spokesman in reply to her tweet noted that some of the people who returned to Ethiopia were later put in prison or under house arrest. “A lot of goodwill was lost over the last three years,” he said.
Other groups signing on Friday include the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, Agaw Democratic Movement, Benishangul People’s Liberation Movement, Gambella Peoples Liberation Army, Global Kimant People Right and Justice Movement/ Kimant Democratic Party, Sidama National Liberation Front and Somali State Resistance, according to organizers.
Nine Ethiopian factions to form alliance against government
Bloc includes Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which has been fighting Abiy Ahmed’s forces for a year
Tigray forces in northern Ethiopia. Photograph: AP
Reuters
Fri 5 Nov 2021
Nine anti-government factions in Ethiopia are to form an alliance on Friday, as pressure mounts on the country’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, with rebel forces advancing toward the capital.
The new alliance, called the United Front of Ethiopian Federalist and Confederalist Forces, includes the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which has been fighting Abiy’s government for a year in a war that has killed thousands of people and forced more than 2 million more from their homes.
Two of the groups, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) and the Agaw Democratic Movement (ADM), confirmed the announcement was genuine.
Several of the groups have armed fighters although it was not clear whether they all do.
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Abiy’s spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, asked about the new anti-government alliance, referred to a comment she posted on Twitter in which she defended Abiy’s rule since he took office in 2018 after a wave of anti-government protests. His party was re-elected in June.
“The opening up of the political space three years ago provided ample opportunity for contenders to settle their differences at the ballot box in June 2021,” Seyoum said in the post.
She did not refer directly to the new alliance.
Spokespeople for the government and the foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the alliance.
African and western nations are calling for an immediate ceasefire in Ethiopia after Tigrayan forces from the north said they made advances towards the capital this week.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said in a tweet late on Thursday: “The conflict in Ethiopia must come to an end. Peace negotiations should begin immediately without preconditions in pursuit of a ceasefire.”
The spokespeople for the Ethiopian government and the TPLF did not respond to requests for comment on Blinken’s ceasefire call.
US senators on Thursday introduced a new sanctions bill on parties to the conflict in Ethiopia.
“This is a regional crisis that requires a coordinated and intensive international response,” said Senator Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho.
The announcement of the new alliance comes during a two-day visit to Addis Ababa by US special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman.
On Thursday, he met the African Union Commission chairperson, Moussa Faki, as well as the Ethiopian defence minister, finance minister and deputy prime minister, according to the State Department.
It was not clear whether the US envoy would meet Abiy.
The TPLF spokesperson, Getachew Reda, did not respond to comment requests on Friday.
The groups will hold a signing ceremony on Friday in Washington, they said in the announcement.
The front is being formed “to reverse the harmful effects of the Abiy Ahmed rule on the peoples of Ethiopia and beyond,” the groups said. It is also being formed “in recognition of the great need to collaborate and join forces towards a safe transition in the country.”
Reuters
Fri 5 Nov 2021
Nine anti-government factions in Ethiopia are to form an alliance on Friday, as pressure mounts on the country’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, with rebel forces advancing toward the capital.
The new alliance, called the United Front of Ethiopian Federalist and Confederalist Forces, includes the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which has been fighting Abiy’s government for a year in a war that has killed thousands of people and forced more than 2 million more from their homes.
Two of the groups, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) and the Agaw Democratic Movement (ADM), confirmed the announcement was genuine.
Several of the groups have armed fighters although it was not clear whether they all do.
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Abiy’s spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, asked about the new anti-government alliance, referred to a comment she posted on Twitter in which she defended Abiy’s rule since he took office in 2018 after a wave of anti-government protests. His party was re-elected in June.
“The opening up of the political space three years ago provided ample opportunity for contenders to settle their differences at the ballot box in June 2021,” Seyoum said in the post.
She did not refer directly to the new alliance.
Spokespeople for the government and the foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the alliance.
African and western nations are calling for an immediate ceasefire in Ethiopia after Tigrayan forces from the north said they made advances towards the capital this week.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said in a tweet late on Thursday: “The conflict in Ethiopia must come to an end. Peace negotiations should begin immediately without preconditions in pursuit of a ceasefire.”
The spokespeople for the Ethiopian government and the TPLF did not respond to requests for comment on Blinken’s ceasefire call.
US senators on Thursday introduced a new sanctions bill on parties to the conflict in Ethiopia.
“This is a regional crisis that requires a coordinated and intensive international response,” said Senator Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho.
The announcement of the new alliance comes during a two-day visit to Addis Ababa by US special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman.
On Thursday, he met the African Union Commission chairperson, Moussa Faki, as well as the Ethiopian defence minister, finance minister and deputy prime minister, according to the State Department.
It was not clear whether the US envoy would meet Abiy.
The TPLF spokesperson, Getachew Reda, did not respond to comment requests on Friday.
The groups will hold a signing ceremony on Friday in Washington, they said in the announcement.
The front is being formed “to reverse the harmful effects of the Abiy Ahmed rule on the peoples of Ethiopia and beyond,” the groups said. It is also being formed “in recognition of the great need to collaborate and join forces towards a safe transition in the country.”
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