Intermittent lava flows from an active hornito in the south pit crater have continued to fill its crater floor. [less]

According to AFP, the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (ARDUF) has said that the 2 German tourists have already been handed over to representatives of the Afar tribe and from there to the German Embassy staff on Monday.
The German Foreign Office has not yet officially confirmed this information. [less]

The rebel Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (ARDUF) has claimed responsibility for the attack, and added that the kidnapped 2 German tourists and two Ethiopian guides are in good health and will be released if there is a "positive" diplomatic outcome with Ethiopia who blames Eritrea to support ARDUF, Reuters reported.
In the meanwhile, tour groups are returning to the area again. The Ethiopian government was said to have established a semi permanent military unit to increase safety for tourists at the volcano. [less]

According to our correspondent in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Government is mobilizing mechanized troops and fenced the near border with Eritrea (where the attackers presumably came from) and establish a permanent special security force in the Dallol and Ert Ale areas. This illustrates the peculiar situation in this region, but according to tour operators in Ethiopia, the area can now be considered "100% safe".
Unfortunately, there is no good news yet about the fate of the 4 abducted German tourists and Ethiopian guides, except that negotiations between the various parties involved (governments from Germany, Ethiopia, Eritrea and the local Afar chiefs) are "ongoing". We hope for their liberation soon! [less]

For years now, this has been a popular camping spot for tourists visiting the spectacular lava lake. According to our correspondents in Addis, who are in satellite phone contact with guides on location in the area, the attack happened on Tuesday around 01:00 Am local time.
5 people at least were shot dead by a group of armed rebels from Eritrea, who suddenly opened fire on the group. The victims include tourists 2 each from Germany and Hungary and 1Austrian. Their bodies have arrived in Semera town, the capital city of the Afar Region, and are now being transported to Addis. [less]

During our latest expedition, we stayed on Erta Ale from early 25 Nov - 28 Nov. Upon our arrival, those changes very obvious. The lava lake had risen to the level of the former lower N section, the old terrace was gone, and the whole south crater was filled by overflows to the level of the lower old N-NW rim. Flows had indeed overflowed that section of the old crater circumference on a length of about 150m, or about 1 third of the old circumference. The still hot overflows had covered the outside caldera floor to about 50-100 distance, and one long flow, probably dated from 24 Nov (judging from its temperature) had almost reached the W caldera walls, as it followed the descending floor of the caldera in that direction.
The still active lake itself was circular, about 40 m in diameter (about 2 thirds to half its size observed in 2008 and 2009), contained within a low ring-shaped wall and extremely active. Degassing fountains kept the whole surface violently boiling most of the time. [less]

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It is likely this is in fact not an eruption related to Erta Ale volcano. A more likely candidate could benearby Dabbahu volcano, a new fissure which had its first historic eruption in late Sept (26) - early Oct 2005. It could also be even a new volcano born from a new fissure: a new episode in the dramatic chapter of Earth's History called the "Splitting apart of East Africa". The occurrence of fissures and fissure eruptions in the area is not surprising, given the very geologic nature of the Afar triangle. Here, the two segments of the African plate and the adjacient Arabian plate are being pulled apart from each other, as East AFrica is slowly moving away from the rest of the continent. At the same time, the Red sea and the Gulf of Aden are widening and those movements are combined in the triple junction, which is the Afar triangle. Here, the crust is continuing to thin and the ground is sinking, until until one day, in geologically near future, the land will be flooded by the Red Sea to mark the initial stage of a new ocean. [less]

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A team of scientists visited the Da'Ure locality immediately adjacent to the NE flank of the Quaternary Dabbahu (or Boina) felsic complex on 4 and 5 October after receiving reports of volcanic activity there on 26 September.
People in the area noted that on 26 September at about 1300 a very strong earthquake shook the area, and was followed by a dark column of "smoke" that rose high into the atmosphere and spread out to form a cloud, which darkened the area for 3 days and 3 nights. The scientists determined that a minor explosive eruption occurred from two semi-circular vents, producing ashfall that was ~5 cm thick near the vent. Ash deposits extended more than 500 m from the vent. Boulders emitted during the eruption were as large as 3 m and were deposited as far as 20 meters away. The scientists noted intense degassing from the vents, the scent of sulfur dioxide, and the sound of boiling water in the vents.  As of about 10 October, the Addis Ababa University Geophysical Observatory reported that seismic activity in the area was continuing.

Background: Dabbahu, also known as Boina or Moina, is a Holocene volcanic massif forming an axial range of the Afar depression SSW of the Alayta massif. Pantelleritic obsidian flows, lava domes, and pumice cones form the summit and upper flanks of the volcano, which rises above the Teru Plain and was built over a base of basaltic-to-trachytic lava flows of a shield volcano. Late-stage basaltic fissure eruptions occurred at the NW base of the volcano. Abundant fumaroles are located along the crest of the volcano and extend NE towards Alayta.

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A group of scientists assessed the visible changes at Erta Ale on 26 September after activity began around 24 September. In comparison to observations made in November 2004, they found that the southern main crater/pit had widened significantly, with portions of the previous crater walls having collapsed into the lava lake. A new cone-shaped construct had grown within the southern main crater where there had been a platform. A lava lake occupied the entire width of the inner crater/pit. In the northern crater/pit, there was a solidified lava bulge and abundant "smoking" along the crater walls. No incandescent lava was visible in the pit.
Based on descriptions by local residents of seeing "red and glowing light shooting and rising into the air above the volcano," the scientists believe that a Strombolian eruption probably occurred, emitting a significant volume of fresh magma within, and possibly out of, the pit.

No fatalities have been reported, but the Ethiopian government evacuated about 50,000 nomads in the surroundings of the volcano. A committee has been set up at to study the magnitude of the damage.

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