In the early hours of an October morning, explosions shook the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa near its most guarded institutions — a tremor not merely physical, but symbolic of a nation once again pulled toward the abyss of civil war. One week after a seven-group rebel alliance shattered a 2022 peace agreement that had quieted a conflict claiming an estimated 600,000 lives, the violence has now reached the capital itself, with opposition sources attributing the blasts to drone strikes. From the displaced tens of thousands in Afar to the tourists stranded in Lalibela, Ethiopia's fragile post-
Explosions rock Ethiopia's capital as drone ban takes effect amid renewed conflict
At least 52 civilians killed in three days of fighting in Alamata; tens of thousands displaced from Afar region; foreign tourists stranded in Lalibela.
Strong enough to set off car alarms across the neighbourhood
Mark
So these explosions in Addis Ababa—are we certain opposition forces carried them out, or is that just what they're claiming?
Mimi
An opposition source told Reuters they were behind drone strikes, but there's no official confirmation from the Ethiopian government. No casualty reports, no damage assessments, nothing on the record from the military or police.
Luke
That's the key gap. We have one side's claim and resident testimony about loud blasts. We don't have independent verification of what caused them, where they hit exactly, or what they hit. The timing is suggestive, but suggestion isn't proof.
Mark
Why did the government ban drones right before this happened?
Mimi
The ban came hours before the explosions. The intelligence service said it was to protect national leaders and critical infrastructure—but it reads like they were anticipating an attack.
Luke
Or responding to one. We don't know the sequence. Did they ban drones because they had intelligence of an imminent strike, or did they ban them after the fact to prevent further attacks? The reporting doesn't say.
Mark
What about Eritrea's involvement? Is it backing the rebels or not?
Mimi
The government says yes. A pro-government militia commander told the BBC he saw Eritrean soldiers on the front lines. Eritrea's information minister flatly denies it, says Ethiopia is scapegoating them.
Luke
And we can't verify either claim because we can't report from the conflict zones. Internet is cut in Tigray. So we have accusations from both sides and no way to check. What we do know is that Eritrea and Ethiopia were allies in the last war, and now relations have collapsed over port access.
Mark
How many people have actually died so far in this new fighting?
Mimi
A medic in Alamata reported 52 civilians killed in three days. Tens of thousands have fled Afar. But those are the only specific numbers we have.
Luke
And those are from single sources in specific locations. The actual death toll across all the fighting zones is unknown. We're seeing fragments of a much larger picture.
Mark
What happens next?
Mimi
The fighting is spreading. The army is moving toward Mekelle. Foreign tourists are trapped in Lalibela. The drone ban is indefinite. This looks like it's accelerating, not stabilizing.
Luke
And we won't know how bad it gets because we can't access the information. That's the real story underneath this one.
O Pulso
- Explosions detonated near Ethiopia's military headquarters and secret service compound around 00:30 local time, jolting residents awake and triggering car alarms across Addis Ababa — the capital itself now a front line.
- A rebel alliance of seven armed groups, including Tigray's TPLF and the Amhara militia Fano, has shattered a 2022 peace deal, reigniting a war that previously killed an estimated 600,000 people in just two years.
- At least 52 civilians died in three days of fighting in Alamata alone, tens of thousands have fled Afar, and foreign tourists remain trapped in the UNESCO heritage city of Lalibela as battles rage around it.
- Ethiopia has expelled ten Eritrean diplomats and closed its Asmara embassy, accusing Eritrea of backing the rebel alliance — a dramatic reversal from the two countries' wartime alliance just four years ago.
- The government imposed an indefinite ban on all drone flights over Addis Ababa, while communications and internet access in Tigray have been severed, leaving the true scale of the conflict dangerously difficult to verify.
- Government forces and pro-government militias are advancing on Mekelle, Tigray's main city, raising fears that the coming weeks could produce devastation surpassing even the catastrophic war that supposedly ended in 2022.
In the early hours of an October morning, explosions shook the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa near its most guarded institutions — a tremor not merely physical, but symbolic of a nation once again pulled toward the abyss of civil war. One week after a seven-group rebel alliance shattered a 2022 peace agreement that had quieted a conflict claiming an estimated 600,000 lives, the violence has now reached the capital itself, with opposition sources attributing the blasts to drone strikes. From the displaced tens of thousands in Afar to the tourists stranded in Lalibela, Ethiopia's fragile post-war order is unraveling across multiple fronts simultaneously. What began as a broken ceasefire in the north is becoming something far harder to contain.
Explosions tore through Addis Ababa in the early hours of Thursday, shaking residents awake near the military headquarters in the west and a secret service compound in the south. Around 00:30 local time, blasts strong enough to trigger car alarms rippled through surrounding neighbourhoods. Neither the prime minister's office nor the defence ministry has confirmed the cause, but an opposition source told Reuters that drone strikes were responsible — a charged detail given that the government had imposed an indefinite ban on all drone flights over the capital just hours earlier.
The explosions arrived one week after fighting erupted between government forces and a newly formed alliance of seven armed groups, including Tigray's TPLF and the Amhara militia Fano. The renewed conflict has shattered a 2022 peace agreement that ended a two-year civil war estimated to have killed around 600,000 people. Both sides blame the other for breaking the ceasefire. The TPLF says it was responding to federal military offensives; the government says Tigrayan forces struck first after seizing regional airports.
The human cost is already severe. In the southern Tigrayan town of Alamata, a medical worker reported 52 civilian deaths over three days of intense combat. Tens of thousands have fled their homes in the Afar region, a strategically vital corridor connecting landlocked Ethiopia to Djibouti's ports. In Amhara, clashes around Lalibela — a UNESCO World Heritage site — have left foreign tourists stranded for more than a week.
The government has accused Eritrea of backing the rebel alliance, a charge Eritrea denies. The accusation marks a striking reversal: Eritrea fought alongside Ethiopian forces against the TPLF during the Tigray war, but relations have since soured over Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's stated ambition to seize the Eritrean port of Assab. Ethiopia responded to the crisis by expelling ten Eritrean diplomats and closing its embassy in Asmara.
With internet and telecommunications severed in Tigray, the full scale of the conflict remains difficult to verify. What is clear is that government forces are advancing toward Mekelle, Tigray's main city, and that a country which endured one of this century's deadliest wars just four years ago now stands at the edge of something potentially worse.
Explosions tore through Ethiopia's capital in the early hours of Thursday morning, shaking residents awake near two of the city's most sensitive installations: the military headquarters in the west and a secret service compound in the south. The blasts came just hours after the country's National Intelligence and Security Service announced an indefinite ban on all drone flights over Addis Ababa and surrounding areas. One resident in the southern Gotera neighbourhood, near the secret service base, described the force of the explosion around 00:30 local time as strong enough to trigger car alarms throughout the area. Another man living in the western suburb of Torhayloch, close to military headquarters, was playing games with friends when the blast hit. Neither the prime minister's office, the defence ministry, nor police have confirmed what caused the explosions, where exactly they struck, or whether anyone was killed or injured.
An opposition source told Reuters that drone strikes were responsible for the blasts. The timing is significant: the explosions occurred just one week after fighting erupted north of the capital between government forces and a newly formed alliance of seven armed groups, including forces from the Tigray region and an Amhara militia called Fano. This renewed conflict has shattered a 2022 peace agreement that ended a brutal two-year civil war estimated by an African Union mediator to have killed around 600,000 people. Both sides blame each other for breaking the ceasefire. The Tigray People's Liberation Front says it was responding to federal military offensives including drone strikes, while the government claims Tigrayan forces attacked first after seizing control of airports in their region.
The fighting has spread across multiple fronts. In the southern Tigrayan town of Alamata, a medical worker reported that 52 civilians died over three days of intense combat. The TPLF is also engaged in the neighbouring Afar region, a strategically crucial area that connects landlocked Ethiopia to the ports of Djibouti. A humanitarian source estimates that tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in Afar. In the Amhara region, clashes around Lalibela—a UNESCO World Heritage site—have trapped foreign tourists for more than a week as government forces and Fano fighters battle for control.
The government has accused neighbouring Eritrea of backing the rebel alliance, a charge Eritrea denies. One pro-government militia commander told the BBC that Eritrean soldiers were fighting on the front lines, but Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel dismissed the allegations, saying Ethiopia's ruling Prosperity Party was using external scapegoats to distract from internal conflicts it has created. The accusation reflects a dramatic shift in relations between the two countries. Eritrea was a crucial ally during the Tigray war, fighting alongside Ethiopian forces against the TPLF. But the relationship has deteriorated largely because of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's stated ambition to seize one of Eritrea's Red Sea ports—specifically Assab, about 60 kilometres from the border—which he views as essential for Ethiopia's economic future. Ethiopia lost access to these ports when Eritrea seceded in 1993.
In response to the security crisis, Ethiopia's foreign ministry announced it is closing its embassy in Eritrea and expelling ten Eritrean diplomats, accusing them of involvement in activities threatening national security. The National Intelligence and Security Service simultaneously imposed the indefinite drone ban over the capital, warning that anyone operating drones in restricted areas would face legal action. The agency justified the measure as necessary to protect national leaders, critical infrastructure, and major public events. The BBC is unable to report directly from Tigray and surrounding conflict zones; internet access and the main telecommunications service in Tigray have been cut, making it difficult to verify what is actually happening on the ground. What is clear is that the national army and pro-government militias are advancing toward Mekelle, Tigray's main city, while the country braces for an escalation that could dwarf the devastation of the war that only ended four years ago.
Citações Notáveis
It was very loud. It was strong enough to set off car alarms.— Resident in southern Addis Ababa, near secret service base
The PP regime has made it a habit to apportion blame to its neighbours in order to deflect attention from the myriad internal conflicts that it is fomenting in various parts of the country.— Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel, responding to accusations of backing rebel groups
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War & Conflict