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.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called for a cease-fire, saying: “The conflict in Ethiopia must come to an end.”
The spokespeople for the Ethiopian government and the TPLF did not respond to requests for comment on Blinken’s call.
On Thursday, the government’s communication department said in a statement: “This is not a Country that Crumbles under Foreign Propaganda! We are fighting an existential war!”
Prior to the new alliance, the OLA had already joined with the Tigrayan forces. The two groups told Reuters they are in the town of Kemise in Amhara state, 325 km from the capital.
It was not possible to independently confirms made by either side as communications in the area are down.
On Thursday the government accused the Tigrayan forces of exaggerating their territorial gains.
The TPLF had said on Tuesday its forces were closing in on the town of Mille, which would enable them to cut off the highway linking neighboring Djibouti to Addis Ababa.
On Friday, government spokesperson Legesse Tulu rejected the claim, saying fighting was 80 km from Mille.
He had not responded to earlier requests for comment.
He also said there was fighting at least 100 km north of Shewa Robit, a town in the Amhara region that is on the A2 highway, which links the capital to Ethiopia’s north. That would put fighting about 57 km south of Kombulcha, one of two towns that the TPLF said it captured last weekend.
The government said on Friday that a TPLF commander, Col. Guesh Gebrehiwot, was captured on Thursday during fighting near Dessie, in Amhara. The TPLF was unreachable for comment.
At a market on Addis Ababa’s outskirts, trad ers went about their business as usual but fewer people were coming to shop.
Vegetable seller Abdisa Wili, 32, said prices were rising.
“If the war is going to continue, it will have impact on the economy,” he said.
“Both sides should stop the war, no one will profit from war except death and economic downfall. They should solve the problem through discussion.”
Amnesty International said there has been an alarming rise in social media posts advocating violence. The rights group also said a state of emergency declared on Tuesday is overly broad and “a blueprint for escalating human rights violations.”
The conflict started a year ago when forces loyal to the TPLF, including some soldiers, seized military bases in Tigray. In response, Abiy sent more troops to the northern region.
The TPLF had dominated national politics for nearly three decades but lost much influence when Abiy took office in 2018.
The TPLF accused him of centralising power at the expense of regional states. Abiy denies this.
