ADDIS ABABA — Explosions echoed through Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, overnight, raising serious concerns that the country’s intensifying civil conflict is rapidly spreading toward the seat of power.
According to diplomatic sources and statements from the opposition alliance, the blasts were the result of coordinated drone strikes targeting federal military installations, including the national army’s headquarters. While local witnesses reported no immediate visible damage near the military base, the incident marks a historic and strategic shift: the first known aerial assault on the capital by anti-government forces.
The escalating threat has forced the Ethiopian government into a defensive posture. Ethiopia’s national intelligence service swiftly announced a strict ban on all drone flights over Addis Ababa and its surrounding areas, citing urgent security concerns. Previously, opposition forces were not widely believed to possess armed drone capabilities, though recent battlefield reports indicate a growing technological parity against the federal military.
Geopolitical analysts warn that the opposition’s ability to strike deep within the capital could be a political game-changer. It fundamentally undermines Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s narrative that the city remains insulated from the war, stripping his forces of their long-held tactical advantage of uncontested aerial superiority.
This latest escalation represents the most significant intensification of violence since the end of Ethiopia’s brutal 2020-2022 civil war. Renewed hostilities erupted last week after the federal government shattered a fragile four-year-old peace agreement with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Now united with six other armed factions, the opposition coalition has declared a “full-blown war” aimed at dismantling Abiy Ahmed’s administration.
As federal troops push aggressively through southern Tigray toward the regional capital of Mekelle, opposition forces have simultaneously captured strategic towns in the neighbouring Afar region. The rapidly expanding frontlines have triggered a severe humanitarian crisis, with tens of thousands of civilians already forced to flee their homes in Afar to escape the relentless crossfire.
With the conflict creeping closer to the capital and displacing massive populations, fears are mounting that Ethiopia is bracing for a prolonged and devastating nationwide war.
Reference: Al-Mayadeen