Ethiopia faces escalating conflict as new insurgent alliance forms

A new coalition of seven insurgent movements, known as the Alliance for Survival, has formed to challenge the Ethiopian federal government. The alliance brings together diverse groups, including the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the Fano militia from Amhara, and factions from Oromia, Afar, and Benishangul-Gumuz.

The conflict has escalated into a war of attrition, with intense fighting reported across the Tigray, Amhara, and Afar regions. The TPLF’s armed wing, the Tigray Defence Forces (TDF), has been operating alongside allied Fano and Afar forces to confront the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF). Recent clashes have seen the TDF capture towns in the Afar region and engage in significant maneuvers around Seqota and Waja-Kobo.

Ethiopian military leadership has accused external actors, including Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt, of providing logistical and financial support to the alliance to destabilize the nation. While the federal government has utilized air power and heavy artillery to repel certain advances, the battlefield continues to expand beyond Tigray’s borders.