Explosions Strike Addis Ababa as Ethiopia's War Reaches the Capital
Explosions were heard overnight in Ethiopia’s capital, some near the military headquarters in the west of the city and another in the south, according to residents and diplomatic sources. They came hours after drone flights were banned over Addis Ababa, and a week after fighting broke out in the north. A source linked to the opposition alliance said its forces had carried out drone strikes.
A war that began in Tigray has reached the seat of government, which is the threshold this conflict had not previously crossed. A resident living near the secret service base in the south of the city described it simply: “It was very loud. It was strong enough to set off car alarms.” The ban on drone flights over the capital, imposed only hours earlier, suggests the authorities were expecting precisely this. The fighting began last week when a newly formed alliance of armed groups, including forces from Tigray, took on the army; federal troops have since taken Alamata in southern Tigray and are reported to be moving north towards Mekelle, with 52 civilians reported killed and more than seven hundred wounded admitted to hospitals supported by Médecins Sans Frontières. Communications to the region remain cut, so almost nothing can be independently checked. Watch whether the government acknowledges the strikes at all, because a denial would be the more worrying answer.