Stories
Ethiopia Plunges Back into Violence: Who's Fighting and Why?
- •Fighting has resumed between federal and Tigrayan forces in Ethiopia, nearly four years after the Pretoria peace agreement.
- •The conflict involves the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Amhara Fano militias against the federal government and allied Tigrayan forces.
- •An alliance of seven opposition groups, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, aims to overthrow Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government.
- •Key groups in the alliance include the TPLF, Amhara Fano National Movement, and Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), some of whom were former adversaries.
- •The United Nations and its chief Antonio Guterres have expressed alarm over the renewed fighting, particularly reports of drone use and harm to civilians.
Key Questions Answered
The alliance consists of seven opposition groups formed to overthrow Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, including the Amhara Fano National Movement, the Oromo Liberation Army, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, the Benishangul Peoples' Liberation Movement, and the Gumuz Peoples' Democratic Movement.
The renewed conflict erupted in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, where Tigrayan forces seized local airports, and quickly spread into the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara.
Relations worsened due to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's push for ownership of Eritrea's southern port of Assab, which Eritrea rejected to protect its sovereignty, as well as Eritrea's dissatisfaction with being excluded from the 2022 peace deal.
