Ethiopia: The West Triggers Another “Civil War” in Africa

04-10-2026: On the 22^nd of September, seven ethnic armed militias in Ethiopia announced the formation of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival and pledged nothing less than the removal of the central government of Ethiopia led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. This alliance is led by the Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) which waged war against the Ethiopian government from 2020 to 2022. The alliance also includes the Amhara Fano National Movement, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, the Benishangul Peoples’ Liberation Movement and the Gumuz Peoples’ Democratic Movement.[1] Many have commented that former enemy fronts are supposedly now allies in the new coalition. For example, Amhara Fano fought with the central government against the TPLF during the 2020-2022 war, which resulted in around 600 000 civilian lives lost and displaced millions.[2]

US backed TPLF

Ethiopia is the second largest African nation in terms of inhabitants, with a population of around 139 million people.[3] It has more than 80 tribes or ethnic groups,[4] so ethnic harmony is a constant goal and is important for national cohesion. Ethnic unity has often been difficult, but it is no secret that the government of the United States of America (US) is the main culprit in fostering ethnic conflict. US backing of the TPLF is extensive as it supplies financial aid, political backing and military assistance. Washington enabled the TPLF for 27 years from 1997 to 2018 in exchange for the Ethiopian military’s collaboration in their agenda for Africa.[5] The 2020-2022 war was basically an attempt by the US backed TPLF to get back into government after being displaced from it in 2018.

During that war, the TPLF called for the intervention of the West, which some suggest indicates that the TPLF is a proxy force of the US and the European Union (EU). At the time, many Tigrayans protested against the TPLF for its many atrocities, and for denying Tigrayans food. At one stage the TPLF confiscated 12 trucks with 570 000 litres of fuel for the war effort, which meant that food could not be delivered to many communities.[6] US support for the TPLF has been controversial, as it has been accused of exacerbating violence and committing countless human rights violations. Even the US state backed Human Rights Watch itself reported last July that the TPLF were forcibly recruiting civilians to fight in its ranks, including minors as young as 15 years.[7] The US Embassy in Ethiopia released a brief statement on September 23[8] expressing disappointment that the TPLF had launched a large scale offensive against the central Ethiopian government, after apparently rejecting dialogue sponsored by the African Union (AU) President Obasanjo. Yet this is scarcely believable as the offensive was likely coordinated with Washington.

Involving Eritrea

Conveniently, in early September Washington lifted sanctions on neighbouring Eritrea, which was welcomed by Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel.[9] However, the US state appears to have ulterior motives for this move. Firstly, it could be a move to gain some kind of access to the Red Sea, where the Ansar Allah revolutionary government in Yemen has made gains against Saudi Arabia as a spill over from the US/Israeli war of aggression on the Islamic Republic of Iran. Secondly, it could be a manoeuvre to gain Eritrean backing, or at least neutrality, in a proxy regime change war against Addis Ababa. The 2018 Ethiopia-Eritrea peace agreement made possible the joining of forces to defeat the US backed TPLF from 2020-2022.[10] This came after the rise of Abiy Ahmed and the Prosperity Party, which came to power under the banner of national unity. At the time Ahmed specified that the aim was not to marginalise any ethnic group, but rather to bolster a shared Ethiopian identity and equalise opportunities for all to access governmental power.[11]

This was a marked shift from the 1991-2018 rule of the US backed TPLF, which claimed to be for all ethnicities but was in practice dominated by them. In fact, at the time all parties outside of the coalition which the TPLF itself led were banned. Today, there are already signs that the TPLF led “Cooperation of Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces for Survival” (locally known as Tsemdo) is not as united as the announcements made out. The Gumuz Peoples Democratic Movement have denied being a part of the alliance, saying it currently has no armed wing. The Ogaden National Liberation Front stated that it was not a part of the alliance, while another wing confirmed it was a member but it was not interested in an armed struggle but rather in removing the central government. Likewise, the Oromo Liberation Army also indicated its aim was to remove the central government but not via armed conflict.[12] So only the TPLF, the Amhara Fano National Movement and the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front are currently engaged in fighting the central security forces in their respective regions.

Countering multipolarity

As in many other African states, Washington has an interest in seeking to “contain and roll back” extensive cooperation between Ethiopia and the socialistic People’s Republic of China (PRC) as part of its new cold war. Over the past 20 years, Ethiopia has been an economic powerhouse, growing its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) at 10% annually.[13] The major factor in this stupendous achievement are expansive trade and investment deals with PRC based firms. There are currently over 3000 PRC led projects operating, the PRC has invested $5.5 billion in the country over the last seven years, there are around 560 000 jobs linked to Chinese investment, and 283 PRC based firms registered to operate in Ethiopia as at the 2024/25 financial year.[14] At an Ethiopia-China business forum in August this year, Ethiopian exporters and Chinese companies signed trade agreements worth more than 340 million US dollars.[15] In the same month, China reported $417 million in exports to Ethiopia and $54.8 million in imports from Ethiopia.[16] Western corporate media bleats about China “owning” Ethiopian infrastructure, when it is only a case of PRC firms winning contracts to build it. The Bishoftu Airport, which will be Africa’s largest when it is completed sometime after 2029, is being constructed in part by the state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.[17] US and European based capitalist corporations have neither the ability nor the capacity to match what Red China is able to offer African states.

Not only is Ethiopia/China cooperation a thorn in the side of the US, in January 2024 Ethiopia became a full member[18] of the non-imperialist BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa plus 15 other Global South states) confederation. This was a significant shift away from Western dependence and towards the rising multipolar world. South Africa and Egypt are already full African members of BRICS, while Nigeria and Uganda are BRICS partner states. Along with the formation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) – the union of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – Africa is slipping away from centuries of imperialist domination and control. The response of imperialism is to wage war on many fronts – political, diplomatic, economic and military. In Ethiopia today, imperialism has effectively opted for yet another proxy regime change “civil war”.

The shifting alliances within Ethiopia and the potential conflicts with neighbouring states can be complex to understand. Yet the task for working people internationally should be straightforward. Workers have a vital interest in defending the multipolar world on all fronts – in Africa, Eurasia, Latin America and beyond. Capitalist unipolarity, or imperialism, is fading fast. Yet the Empire will certainly not collapse of its own accord, no matter how much violence it unleashes. It must be brought down through the concerted efforts of the masses across the globe. Indispensable for this task is the forging of internationally linked Marxist vanguard parties anchored with the base of permanent revolution. Nationalised, planned economies with working people at the helm, or socialism, will finally herald an end to seemingly endless wars.

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[1] www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/23/can-ethiopias-seven-group-rebel-alliance-challenge-abiy-ahmed (30-09-2026)

[2] www.english.elpais.com/international/2023-01-27/ethiopias-forgotten-war-is-the-deadliest-of-the-21st-century-with-around-600000-civilian-deaths.html (30-09-2026)

[3] www.worldometers.info/world-population/ethiopia-population/ (30-09-2026)

[4] www.tuko.co.ke/facts-lifehacks/guides/543860-list-ethiopian-tribes-ethnic-groups-traditions-home-regions/ (30-09-2026)

[5] www.laprogressive.com/foreign-policy/tigray-peoples-liberation-front (30-09-2026)

[6] www.peoplesdispatch.org/2022/08/30/us-backed-tplf-resumes-war-in-northern-ethiopia/ (30-09-2026)

[7] www.hrw.org/news/2026/07/06/ethiopia-tigray-authorities-forcibly-recruiting-civilians (30-09-2026)

[8] www.et.usembassy.gov/statement-on-recent-developments-in-tigray-and-afar/ (30-09-2026)

[9] www.english.aawsat.com/world/5320873-eritrean-information-minister-welcomes-new-chapter-cooperation-washington (30-09-2026)

[10] www.martinplaut.com/2026/09/22/crisis-in-the-horn-ethiopia-faces-new-alliance-trump-turns-to-eritrea-and-the-red-sea-as-a-war-zone/ (30-09-2026)

[11] www.globalresearch.ca/horn-africa-reappraisal-ethiopia-cycle-violence/5941953 (30-09-2026)