Blasts heard in Addis Ababa as Ethiopia conflict widens in the north

Government forces close in on Tigray’s capital amid renewed accusations of Eritrean involvement.

Rebel forces said they carried out several drone strikes in the capital, Addis Ababa, including against military positions [File: Amanuel Sileshi/AFP]

Explosions have been heard in the Ethiopian capital as fighting between federal forces and a coalition of armed opposition groups widens in the country’s north.

The violence comes as Ethiopia said on Thursday that it will close its embassy in neighbouring Eritrea.

list 1 of 3 What’s triggered the latest violence in Ethiopia?

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list 3 of 3 Ethiopia’s army promises restraint amid fears of new civil war

Three diplomatic sources told the Reuters news agency that blasts were heard overnight in Addis Ababa, hours after the government banned drone-flying over the capital city and surrounding areas. A source linked to Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival told the agency the rebel alliance had carried out several drone strikes in Addis Ababa, including some targeting the military’s headquarters.

The alliance unites seven armed groups, including the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and groups from the Amhara, Afar, Somali and Benishangul-Gumuz regions, in an effort to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.

Alliance fighters have also clashed with government forces in the neighbouring Afar region , where the authorities have renewed accusations of an Eritrean incursion.

Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it will close its embassy in Eritrea’s capital, Asmara, after it ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats in Addis Ababa to leave the country within 48 hours.

The ministry accused Eritrea of “direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence against Ethiopia”. The Eritrean diplomats were expelled on Thursday over activities that pose “a direct threat to Ethiopia’s national security” in breach of the United Nations Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the ministry said.

The ministry urged Eritrea to “cease all acts that are contrary to the principles governing relations between sovereign states”, saying it remains committed to “peaceful resolution of disputes” and regional integration in the Horn of Africa.

Eritrea has denied allegations that it is supporting the opposition alliance fighting Ethiopian government forces since last week.

Map showing Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where clashes between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have escalated [Al Jazeera]

Reporting from Afar on Wednesday, Al Jazeera’s Muhammed Taha Tawakel said fighting had moved from the Amhara region deep into Tigray as government forces advanced north, reaching within about 40km (25 miles) of Mekelle, its regional capital.

The TPLF, meanwhile, had pulled its fighters back to new positions, and some of its leaders had moved out of Mekelle, Tawakel said.

They were joined by thousands of civilians who fled the city fearing clashes, he said. Electricity and internet services in the region had been cut.

Last week, Tigrayan forces mounted a large offensive , which the TPLF calls a “defensive war” against federal drone and artillery strikes. Government troops and allied fighters have since launched a counteroffensive.

The federal government has accused neighbouring states of backing the coalition , which they deny.

In Afar, government forces told Reuters they have recaptured the towns of Erebti and Abaala near the border with Tigray. The claim remains unconfirmed.

On Wednesday, Al Jazeera’s Tawakel reported that the fight to control the towns was ongoing, and escalation in the northern region threatened to drag Ethiopia and Eritrea into a wider war.

He said mediation efforts by locals to persuade forces controlling Abala and Erebti to withdraw failed, and the situation of more than 80,000 Afar residents trapped in the area remains uncertain.

Tawakel said the fighting in Afar carries the risk of regional repercussions, potentially bringing Eritrea and Ethiopia into a wider war and poses a risk to food security if routes between Ethiopia and Djibouti are disrupted.

Fighting had also reached areas along Ethiopia’s borders with Eritrea and Sudan, he said, increasing the risk of regionalising the conflict.

Ahmed Hussein, Afar’s deputy governor, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that Ethiopia had come under an unprecedented attack which he said sought to undermine the regional administration and install figures loyal to Eritrea.

He called on Asmara to withdraw from Afar territory and held it responsible for the safety of civilians in areas controlled by opposition groups.

政府军逼近提格雷州首府，同时再次出现厄立特里亚参与其中的指控。

反叛武装称，他们在首都亚的斯亚贝巴发动了多次无人机袭击，其中包括对军事阵地的袭击。[图片：Amanuel Sileshi/AFP]

埃塞俄比亚首都传出爆炸声，该国北部联邦军队与武装反对派联盟之间的战斗不断扩大。

暴力事件发生之际，埃塞俄比亚周四宣布将关闭其在邻国厄立特里亚的大使馆。

（共 3 项，第 1 项）是什么引发了埃塞俄比亚最近的暴力事件？

列表 2/3：年轻人因担心被强征入伍而逃离提格雷

埃塞俄比亚军方承诺在新内战担忧中保持克制（共3条）

三位外交消息人士告诉路透社，在政府禁止无人机飞越首都亚的斯亚贝巴及其周边地区数小时后，亚的斯亚贝巴夜间传出爆炸声。一位与埃塞俄比亚人民力量联盟（EPFSA）有关联的消息人士告诉路透社，该反叛联盟在亚的斯亚贝巴发动了多次无人机袭击，其中一些袭击的目标是军方总部。

该联盟联合了七个武装团体，包括提格雷人民解放阵线（提人阵）以及来自阿姆哈拉州、阿法尔州、索马里州和本尚古勒-古穆兹州的团体，试图推翻阿比·艾哈迈德总理的政府。

联盟武装人员还在邻近的阿法尔地区与政府军发生冲突，当地政府再次指责厄立特里亚入侵。

埃塞俄比亚外交部在一份声明中表示，在命令10名厄立特里亚驻亚的斯亚贝巴外交官在48小时内离开该国后，埃塞俄比亚将关闭其在厄立特里亚首都阿斯马拉的大使馆。

埃塞俄比亚外交部指责厄立特里亚对埃塞俄比亚实施“直接和间接的敌对和好战行为”。外交部称，厄立特里亚外交官因违反《联合国维也纳外交关系公约》，从事“直接威胁埃塞俄比亚国家安全”的活动，于周四被驱逐出境。

该部敦促厄立特里亚“停止一切违反主权国家间关系原则的行为”，并表示将继续致力于“和平解决争端”和非洲之角区域一体化。

自上周以来，厄立特里亚否认了有关其支持反对派联盟与埃塞俄比亚政府军作战的指控。

地图显示了埃塞俄比亚提格雷州，联邦政府与提格雷人民解放阵线（提人阵）之间的冲突在该地区升级。[半岛电视台]

半岛电视台记者穆罕默德·塔哈·塔瓦基勒周三从阿法尔报道称，战斗已从阿姆哈拉地区蔓延至提格雷州腹地，政府军向北推进，抵达距离提格雷州首府默克莱约 40 公里（25 英里）处。

塔瓦克尔说，与此同时，提格雷人民解放阵线已将其战士撤回新的阵地，其一些领导人也已离开默克莱。

他说，还有数千名平民也加入了他们的行列，他们因担心发生冲突而逃离该市。该地区的电力和互联网服务已被切断。

上周，提格雷人民解放阵线（提人阵）发动了一场大规模攻势，称之为针对联邦政府无人机和炮击的“防御战”。政府军及其盟军随后也发起了反攻。

联邦政府指责邻近各州支持该联盟，但这些州否认了这一指控。

据路透社报道，阿法尔州政府军称，他们已重新夺回靠近提格雷州边界的埃雷布提和阿巴拉两座城镇。但这一说法尚未得到证实。

半岛电视台记者塔瓦基勒周三报道称，争夺城镇控制权的战斗仍在继续，北部地区的局势升级有可能将埃塞俄比亚和厄立特里亚拖入更大规模的战争。

他表示，当地居民为说服控制阿巴拉和埃雷布提的部队撤退所做的调解努力失败了，超过 8 万名被困在该地区阿法尔居民的处境仍然不明朗。

塔瓦克尔表示，阿法尔的战斗可能会引发区域性后果，有可能将厄立特里亚和埃塞俄比亚卷入更大规模的战争，如果埃塞俄比亚和吉布提之间的路线中断，还会对粮食安全构成威胁。

他还表示，战斗已经蔓延到埃塞俄比亚与厄立特里亚和苏丹接壤的地区，增加了冲突区域化的风险。

阿法尔省副省长艾哈迈德·侯赛因周三告诉半岛电视台，埃塞俄比亚遭受了前所未有的攻击，他说，这次攻击旨在破坏地方政府，并扶植效忠厄立特里亚的人物。

他呼吁阿斯马拉从阿法尔地区撤军，并责成阿斯马拉对反对派控制区内平民的安全负责。