If Ethiopia's federal government thought Addis Ababa was insulated from the conflict in its restive Tigray and Amhara regions, drone strikes have forced a reappraisal. Blasts were heard overnight Oct. 1 near the military's headquarters in the west of the city, and another military camp in the south. The seven-member opposition "Alliance for Survival" claimed responsibility. Meanwhile, as fighting worsens, the federal army and pro-government militia appear to be advancing towards northern Tigray's main city of Mekelle. At least 52 civilians were killed in three days of heavy clashes around Alamata, 180 kilometers south of Mekelle. Fighters of the region's ruling party, the TPLF, are also reported to have attacked east into the Afar region—landlocked Ethiopia's strategic corridor to neighboring Djibouti's ports.

As concerns mount over the humanitarian impact of the expanding combat, the UN and African Union have backed a mediation effort by former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo. The risk remains, however, of a wider conflagration, with Ethiopia accusing Egypt, Eritrea and Sudan of backing its opponents. Ethiopia and Eritrea cut diplomatic relations on Oct. 2.

From The New Humanitarian, Oct. 2

Note: The "Alliance for Survival" joins the TPLF with the Amhara Fano militia and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA). Ethiopia has been identified as a member of the "axis of revisionists," a de facto regional alliance seeking a new order in the Horn of Africa.