Seven Ethiopian movements announce the Alliance for Survival

Seven armed and political organisations announced the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival on 20 September, formally committing themselves to removing the Prosperity Party-led federal government and establishing an inclusive transitional administration.

The founding proclamation was read by Zemene Kassie, chairman of the Amhara Fano National Movement. It joined movements rooted in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Somali, Afar and Benishangul-Gumuz in a single coalition: the Amhara Fano National Movement, the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the Oromo Liberation Army, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, an Afar armed organisation, the Benishangul People's Liberation Movement and the Gumuz People's Democratic Movement.

The groups had been converging for roughly a year, and the declaration turned an alignment Ethiopian officials had long dismissed as “Tsimdo” into a published coalition with a political charter. Its members describe a programme that runs beyond the removal of the government: a transitional administration, a constitutional dialogue and elections. Each member retains its own command and unresolved disputes remain, including competing claims over western Tigray, which TPLF officials say the alliance has agreed to settle through dialogue.