Blasts reportedly heard in Addis Ababa as fighting spreads across northern Ethiopia

Pinned summary · as of 07:35

Blasts were heard overnight in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, as fighting between the federal army and an alliance of armed opposition groups spread across the north, the Ghanaian Times reported, drawing on Reuters and Al Jazeera. Diplomatic sources and a person tied to the alliance gave Reuters differing accounts of the explosions.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  The Ghanaian Times reported that the explosions in the capital came as the northern fighting widened. Three diplomats told Reuters on Thursday they had heard the blasts during the night, which followed hours after the authorities in Addis Ababa banned drone flights in the city and its surroundings.
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  Reuters, as quoted by the Ghanaian Times, spoke to someone connected to the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival, who said the alliance launched multiple drone attacks on Addis Ababa, a few of them targeting military headquarters. The paper said the alliance unites seven armed organisations, including the TPLF (Tigray People's Liberation Front) as well as groups from Amhara, Afar, Somali and Benishangul-Gumuz, and that its stated goal is to oust the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
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  According to the Ghanaian Times, alliance fighters also engaged government troops in Afar, which borders Tigray, where officials again spoke of an Eritrean incursion. It also reported that government forces told Reuters they had taken back the towns of Erebti and Abaala near the Tigray border, a claim that was still unconfirmed.
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  Muhammed Taha Tawakel of Al Jazeera, filing from Afar on Wednesday, described the fighting as having moved out of Amhara and far into Tigray, with government forces pushing north until they were roughly 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Mekelle, the regional capital. He said the TPLF had repositioned its fighters and some of its leaders had left the city, thousands of civilians had run from it, and power and internet had been cut across the region, the Ghanaian Times reported.
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  The Ghanaian Times reported that the TPLF characterises last week's large offensive by Tigrayan forces as a war of defence against drone and artillery attacks by the federal side, and that government soldiers and their allies have since struck back. It added that the federal government blames neighbouring countries for supporting the coalition, something those countries deny.
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  Mr Tawakel said the struggle for the Afar towns was still going on and that local efforts to persuade the forces in Abala and Erebti to pull out had not worked, leaving the fate of over 80,000 Afar civilians in the area unclear. He warned that the escalation could pull Ethiopia and Eritrea into a bigger war, according to the Ghanaian Times.
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  Mr Tawakel further said clashes had arrived in border zones with Eritrea and Sudan, and that trouble in Afar might hurt food supplies should the Ethiopia-Djibouti corridors be interrupted, the Ghanaian Times reported.
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  Afar's deputy governor, Ahmed Hussein, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that his country was facing an attack without precedent, which he alleged was designed to weaken the regional government and put pro-Eritrean figures in charge. He urged Asmara to leave Afar land and said it must answer for the wellbeing of civilians living where opposition groups hold ground, according to the Ghanaian Times.

Why it matters for Ghana

According to the Ghanaian Times, Al Jazeera's correspondent said the Afar fighting might hurt food supplies if the Ethiopia-Djibouti corridors are interrupted. The reports describe thousands of civilians leaving Mekelle, more than 80,000 Afar residents in an unclear position and services cut in the region. The correspondent also warned that the escalation could draw Ethiopia and Eritrea into a bigger war, which would affect the wider Horn of Africa.