Addis Ababa blasts heard hours after Ethiopia bans drones amid Tigray fighting

A series of blasts were heard across Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on Wednesday night, hours after authorities banned the use of drones in the city and surrounding areas as fighting continued in the country's northern Tigray region. An intelligence service official, who was not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed that there had been three blasts in three different locations, but did not give further details.

A diplomatic source, who requested anonymity for his safety, said he heard a blast at 7 pm near the defence headquarters followed by a siren. Residents living near the defence headquarters also said they heard a blast near a factory in the area after midnight. It was not immediately clear whether the blasts were linked to an attack or were part of training exercises at the defence headquarters.

The explosions came hours after the National Intelligence and Security Service banned the flying of drones in Addis Ababa and nearby areas. Ethiopia's federal forces are fighting regional forces in Tigray, where rebels have taken control of several towns. The Tigray People's Liberation Front has also recently taken over the region's main airport, forcing a suspension of flights. The United Nations has called for de-escalation and for dialogue between the government and seven opposition groups that recently formed an alliance to challenge Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

People displaced by the 2020 war in Tigray said on Thursday that they could hear gunfire from miles away near the Hitsats camp in northwestern Tigray. The camp houses about 16,000 people who have been living there for six years and now fear they may be displaced again. "We hear fighting supported by heavy artillery, and drones hover in the sky every day," a resident told The Associated Press over the phone.

Residents in Mekelle, the Tigrayan capital, said communication, banking and other essential services had been disrupted by the fighting. Abdelaziz Ahmed, 35, a merchant, said the cash shortage caused by the disruption to banking services was hurting his business. "People cannot buy anything because they lack cash, so we cannot sell. My current stock won't last more than a month. My only hope is that all these challenges pass and peace is restored in Tigray," he said. A taxi driver, who declined to be named because he feared for his safety, said fuel prices had doubled on the black market. "The war has made life extremely difficult. We don't even have money for food or rent," he said.

The blasts in Addis Ababa, the drone ban and the accounts from Tigray underlined the wider impact of the conflict, with uncertainty in the capital and growing hardship in the north as fighting continued.