Explosion Reported at Ethiopian Army HQ

An explosion was reported overnight at the headquarters of the Ethiopian army in Addis Ababa, according to diplomatic and security sources who spoke to AFP on Thursday.

The reported blast comes as fighting between Ethiopian government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) intensifies, raising concerns about a possible return to the devastating civil war that ravaged the country between 2020 and 2022.

Heavy clashes erupted on September 23, with the renewed violence already leaving hundreds of people dead or wounded.

Multiple sources said the explosion occurred at the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) headquarters in the Tor Hayloch area of the capital sometime between midnight and 1:00 am local time.

If the blast is confirmed to have been caused by a rebel attack, it would represent a significant escalation, as Addis Ababa has not been targeted in this way in recent years.

“The explosion took place at the HQ and was powerful. It shook the surrounding area and triggered significant panic among people in the vicinity,” a worker at a nearby bar told AFP.

The worker was not at the scene when the explosion occurred but said they had spoken with colleagues who witnessed the incident.

“There were a few minutes of disturbing sounds followed by an explosion,” a local resident said.

A foreign diplomatic source and a security source in Addis Ababa also confirmed that an explosion had occurred. However, neither source could establish what caused the blast or identify those responsible.

The incident followed an order issued on Wednesday by the National Intelligence and Security Services banning all drone flights around the capital.

The ENDF spokesperson had not responded to AFP’s request for comment at the time of publication.

Fighting Intensifies in Northern Ethiopia

The reported explosion comes as fierce fighting continues across several fronts in northern Ethiopia, with hundreds of people killed or wounded since the conflict resumed last week.

The TPLF has launched attacks into the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions, fighting alongside local militias. Government-aligned forces, meanwhile, have been advancing north towards Mekelle, the capital of Tigray.

Access to the affected areas remains heavily restricted, with media organisations prevented from travelling to the conflict zones. Communications have also been significantly disrupted, making it difficult to independently verify developments on the ground.

The federal government has provided limited public information about the fighting.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it had recorded more than 420 wounded people at hospitals in Korem and Alamata in Tigray by September 25. More than 300 additional wounded people had been registered at a hospital in Shire, western Tigray.

The renewed fighting has also displaced civilians. A humanitarian source estimated that tens of thousands of people had fled their homes in Afar as violence spread through the region.