Abiy Ahmed Plays Role of Darth Vader as Ethiopian Rebel Alliance Sets Their Sights on Addis Ababa

In November 2020, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops and air force jets into the rebellious Tigray region. But the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) fought back and now appears to be marching on the capital, Addis Ababa.

Nine groups in Ethiopia have agreed to form a rebel alliance to take on Abiy Ahmed's government as the country's conflict becomes a civil war in all but name.

Abiy, who ironically won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, might have bitten off more than he chew when he launched an offensive against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) a year ago.

The TPLF retreated initially but then went on the attack against government forces and Amhara militiamen.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed

© Михаил Метцель

Ethiopian troops have now pulled out of Tigray entirely, but the TPLF is pursuing them southwards and is only 200 miles from Addis Ababa.

The TPLF, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), and seven other groups agreed to "collaborate and join forces" against Abiy's government and will sign a formal agreement in Washington, DC, later on Friday, 5 November.

The conflict in Ethiopia must come to an end. Peace negotiations should begin immediately without preconditions in pursuit of a ceasefire.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) November 5, 2021

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on both sides to sit down and negotiate, but neither side is listening.

The TPLF said it was running "joint operations" with the OLA, which predicted Addis Ababa could fall within weeks.

Exiled Tigrayans march through Washington DC on 4 November 2021

© AP Photo / Gemunu Amarasinghe

In 1991, the TPLF were at the forefront of another rebel alliance - the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front - which brought down the left-wing government of Haile Mengistu Mariam, who fled into exile in Zimbabwe.

A Tigrayan elite dominated Ethiopia for the next two decades but in recent years the Amhara - the country's second biggest tribe - have asserted their dominance under Abiy Ahmed.

Ethiopia's biggest ethnic group, the Oromo, have been fighting domination by the government in Addis Ababa and the OLA have now sided with the TPLF.

The rebel alliance's formal name is the United Front of Ethiopian Federalist and Confederalist Forces and in a statement it said it wanted "to reverse the harmful effects of the Abiy Ahmed rule on the peoples of Ethiopia...and in recognition of the great need to collaborate and join forces towards a safe transition in the country".

Interesting how naming conventions have changed
last time (1991) the Ethiopian govt. was overthrown by an alliance of regional groups they the "Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front"
This time it's the
"United Front of Ethiopian Federalist and Confederalist Forces" https://t.co/vakDaUJC1A

— Robin Brown (@rcmb) November 5, 2021

Abiy's government has described the conflict as "an existential war" but it has become all too real for the residents of the Amhara region, where most of the fighting is taking place.

Abiy has insisted the TPLF was "encircled" and close to defeat but the Ethiopians claimed a false victory a year ago, only for the Tigrayans to go on the offensive and force them to retreat.

Despite claiming the TPLF were on the verge of defeat, the Ethiopian Defence Ministry has called on veterans to re-enlist in the armed forces "to safeguard the country from a conspiracy to disintegrate it".