An armed coalition has pushed back against U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s description of the conflict in northern Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa, rejecting his suggestion that separatist concerns and terrorism are among the forces driving the violence.
The Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival said in a statement that its operations constitute self-defense. The group accused the government of turning away from attempts to secure a peaceful settlement, including the November 2022 Pretoria Agreement.
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The alliance said it seeks to support an inclusive democratic transition, restore peace and give Ethiopians the authority to decide the country’s political future. It also rejected the labeling of its strikes on government military installations as terrorism, saying the term distorts the character of the conflict.
