CONFLICT WIDENS: Blasts Rock Ethiopia's Capital as Army Advances North...

Ethiopia's northern conflict has escalated dramatically, with explosions now reaching the capital for the first time as federal forces advance toward Tigray's main city. The violence involves a broad coalition of armed groups spanning multiple regions—including the historically powerful Tigray People's Liberation Front—united against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government. The clash represents a major widening of a conflict that has already displaced hundreds of thousands and destroyed infrastructure across the region. The involvement of neighboring Eritrea has become a central flashpoint, with Ethiopia now expelling Eritrean diplomats and closing its embassy in the country over what it describes as military support for the opposition coalition. Eritrea denies the allegations, but the escalating tensions between the two nations add a regional dimension to what is fundamentally a struggle over power and autonomy within Ethiopia itself.