Nairobi
The Ethiopian army has called on former personnel to rejoin the military to fight the advance of Tigrayan forces, state media said, as nine anti-government factions formed a new alliance to push out Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
Called the United Front of Ethiopian Federalist and Confederalist Forces, the alliance includes the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, 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.
Faced with a spreading conflict and threats by Tigrayan and allied forces to march on the capital Addis Ababa, the federal armed forces appealed to retired soldiers and veterans to rejoin the military, setting a Nov. 24 deadline to register.
In the past week, the government and local authorities have also told civilians in the capital to register their weapons and prepare to defend their neighborhoods.
African and Western nations have called for an immediate cease-fire in Ethiopia after Tigrayan forces from the north said they had moved closer to Addis Ababa this week.
The new anti-government alliance includes political, military and diplomatic cooperation and expands an existing agreement between the TPLF and the Oromo Liberation Army, one of the organizers, said the TPLF’s Yohanees Abraha.
“We are considering establishing a transitional arrangement and we have agreed that the regime in power at this time must go as soon as possible,” he said.
The nascent alliance was not in touch with Abiy’s government but planned to begin liaising with foreign governments and bodies, he said.
Abiy’s spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, asked for reaction to the formation of the alliance, referred Reuters to a comment she posted on Twitter in which she defended Abiy’s rule since he took office in 2018.
She said in the post the opening of political space after Abiy took office provided ample opportunity for the opposition to settle differences at the ballot box. Abiy’s party was re-elected in June.
She did not refer directly to the new alliance.Attorney General Gedion Temothewos called the alliance “a publicity stunt” and said some of the groups had a track record of “ethnic cleansing.”
TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda also did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.—AFP
