United Front of Ethiopian Federalist and Confederalist Forces

The United Front of Ethiopian Federalist and Confederalist Forces (UFEFCF) is (or was) an apparent coalition of six Ethiopian rebel groups, including the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) before 2022 and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), created in November 2021 during the Tigray War.[1][2][3]

United Front of Ethiopian Federalist and Confederalist Forces
Dates of operation5 November 2021 – present
Group(s)
Former members:
Active regionsEthiopia
Ideology
StatusActive
Opponents
Battles and wars

Creation

TDF–OLA alliance

In August 2021, Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) leader Debretsion Gebremichael and spokesperson Getachew Reda stated that the Tigray Defense Forces was in negotiations with the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) to cooperate in fighting against the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF). OLA spokesperson Odaa Tarbii stated that the two groups "share[d] intel and coordinate[d] strategy"; however, he stated that they share no common ideological goals with the TPLF and thus the collaboration was only temporary.

Nine-group alliance

By late October 2021, negotiations had extended to several smaller rebel groups, of which many are widely known to be satellite organizations created and funded by the TPLF to create the impression that there exists shared grievance and thus widespread support among other ethnic groups for their insurgency.[2] On 5 November 2021, the alliance was announced to be composed of the following nine groups almost all of which appeared overnight following the beginning of the TPLF insurgency:[3]

The alliance was named the United Front of Ethiopian Federalist and Confederalist Forces.[3]

On 31 January 2022 the ARDUF announced that it was distancing itself from the United Front of Ethiopian Federalist and Confederalist Forces after accusing Tigrayan forces of killing civilians in the Afar region.[4]

On 19 October 2022, the BPLM signed a peace agreement with the regional government and left the coalition.[5]

During the Ethiopia–Tigray peace agreement, the TPLF agreed to "Refrain from aiding and abetting, supporting, or collaborating with any armed or subversive group in any part of the country."[6]

On 22 December 2022, over 300 members of the Kimant Democratic Party were arrested by Amhara regional authorities after their leaders facilitated a talk with the government in which they discussed the peaceful surrender of the group and the participation of its members in the integration training provided by the government.[7]

Aims

The alliance stated that its aim was to "dismantle Abiy's government by force or by negotiations, and then form a transitional authority."[1]

Reactions

Gedion Timotheos, the Ethiopian Minister of Justice,[8] called the announcement of the nine-group alliance on 5 November 2021 a "publicity stunt" and claimed that some of the participating groups were "not really organisations that have any traction".[3]

References
  1. "Ethiopia's Tigray forces seek new military alliance". Thomson Reuters. 2021-08-11. Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  2. Rynn, Simon; Hassen, Ahmed (2021-10-22). "Ethiopia: What Next?". Royal United Services Institute. Archived from the original on 2021-10-29. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  3. "Nine anti-gov't groups team up as Ethiopia recalls ex-soldiers". Al Jazeera English. 2021-11-05. Archived from the original on 2021-11-06. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  4. "An Afar-based armed group parts its ways with TPLF-led alliance". My Views on News. 2022-02-01. Archived from the original on 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  5. "Benishangul Gumuz regional govt, rebel group sign peace agreement". Addis Standard. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  6. "Agreement for Lasting Peace through a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities between the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front" (PDF). Addis Standard. 2022-11-02. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-11-04. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  7. "EPO Weekly: 10 December 2022 – 6 January 2023". epo.acleddata.com. January 11, 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  8. "Update: Details of Ethiopia's State of Emergency proclamation". Addis Standard. 2021-11-02. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
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