A newly-formed alliance of Ethiopian opposition factions set a goal on Friday of bringing down Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed by force or negotiation to then form a transitional government.
The government, already embroiled in a year-long war against northern forces, dismissed the creation of the alliance as a stunt and accused some members of past ethnic violence.
The alliance was announced by faction leaders in Washington despite calls from African and Western leaders for a national ceasefire, as federal troops battle the northern-based Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allies.
With the rebels threatening to move on the capital Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian army on Friday called on former personnel to rejoin the military to fight them, state media said.
The UN Security Council on Friday called for an end to the fighting in Ethiopia and for talks on a lasting ceasefire as the 15-member body expressed deep concern in a rare statement about the expansion and intensification of military clashes.
The council also “called for refraining from inflammatory hate speech and incitement to violence and divisiveness.”
