Seven Ethiopian armed and opposition groups announced on Sunday evening, 20 September 2026, the formation of the “Ethiopian Popular Forces Alliance for Survival”, with the aim of overthrowing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and establishing an inclusive transitional government. The move brings together forces active in several parts of the country, including groups that fought on opposite sides of the Tigray war between 2020 and 2022.
The alliance includes the Fano Amhara National Movement, the Oromo Liberation Army, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Front for Unity, known as “Ugugumo”, the Benishangul People’s Liberation Movement, and the Qemant People’s Democratic Movement.
Alliance sets goal of overthrowing the government
The alliance said its members would seek to coordinate their political, civil and organisational capabilities, and that their goal was to end the system led by the Prosperity Party and form an inclusive transitional government based on a transitional charter. It also called for participatory national and constitutional dialogue to address political disputes and questions concerning the country’s future.
Zemene Kase, head of the Fano Amhara National Movement, read the founding statement on Tigray TV, saying that the forces joining the alliance believed they bore a “historic responsibility” for overthrowing the regime. The statement accused the government of plunging the country into wars, displacement, poverty and insecurity. These were allegations made by the alliance.
Alliance priorities and calls to the armed forces
The alliance listed ending conflicts, preserving the country’s security, guaranteeing human and democratic rights, improving social and economic conditions, and developing Ethiopia’s relations with neighbouring countries among its declared priorities. It called on members of the government armed forces to leave their ranks and join what it described as the “struggle to save the people and the country”, and urged civil society organisations and political forces to support its objectives.
Michael Asgidom, a spokesman for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, said the front’s cooperation with the other alliance members was political and military, adding that joint military operations could become necessary to achieve the goal of removing the government. He said the peace agreement signed in November 2022, which ended the Tigray war, was no longer in force.
The alliance brings together the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and the Fano Amhara National Movement, despite their having fought on opposite sides of the war in northern Ethiopia between 2020 and 2022. The conflict killed hundreds of thousands of people and involved atrocities linked to ethnic identity.
Tigray-Amhara rivalry gives way to alliance
Fano had fought alongside federal forces against the front before turning against the government in 2023, in clashes that killed thousands in the Amhara region. Several groups in the alliance accuse the government of centralising power and marginalising the regions. The government, meanwhile, says it has launched a national dialogue to address longstanding political divisions and internal conflicts.
Abiy Ahmed’s spokeswoman, Billene Seyoum, said the alliance members had been cooperating for some time with financial support from Eritrea, arguing that the new announcement confirmed allegations previously made by the Ethiopian government. Eritrea’s information minister did not comment on the new accusation, while Asmara has repeatedly denied similar Ethiopian allegations that it supports armed groups inside the country.
Mutual accusations over Eritrean support
The Ethiopian Media Authority announced on Monday, 21 September, that news organisations were barred from relying on Tigray TV as a source of information, accusing it of promoting rebellion. The authority’s director-general gave no further explanation for the decision. The alliance’s announcement came after reports of skirmishes between federal forces and Tigray forces.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front regained control of the region’s political administration in May, a move the government deemed a violation of the peace agreement signed in 2022, while the front accused the federal authorities of failing to implement the agreement. The Ethiopian army carried out several drone strikes targeting Tigray forces in recent months, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project.
The federal government did not comment on reports of those strikes, but the army announced that about 300 Tigray fighters had surrendered in the week before the alliance was formed. Magnus Taylor, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the new alliance would concern the federal government, but noted that the extent to which its components could cooperate effectively remained unclear.
He added that the limited strength of several groups, the geographical distances between them, and the political differences separating them could hinder efforts to work together.
