EXPLOSIVE DEVICE DEFUSED AT ADDIS ABABA’S BOLE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
(Posted 17th August 2013)
Ethiopian security operatives are credited with preventing a potential explosion at Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport, when they on Friday detected and then successfully defused what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in the departure terminal.
The operation, during which the terminal area was temporarily cleared of passengers, delayed flights but no travelers came to any harm. It could at the time of posting not be confirmed through regular sources in Addis, what suspicion security and police have in regards of potential perpetrators but having been involved in the Somalia conflict and combating radical groups opposed to the government in Addis, operating from the safe distance across the borders in neighbouring countries, it is obvious that such groups will be one of the main targets for the unfolding investigation. It is equally a mystery right now how, in view of the tight terminal security at Addis, the explosives could have been brought inside, again a key focus now of the investigation to find any loopholes in the security cordons.
Addis Ababa, courtesy of Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s leading airline, is one of the continent’s busiest hubs for not just visitors to Ethiopia but connecting across the entire Africa, and flight delays will take a day or two to clear before all scheduled departures are back to normal.
