The oil company’s chief executive said Monday night’s explosions were not an accident, but he did not elaborate.
The explosions occurred at one gas station in the center of Addis Ababa and one in a northern suburb, the national police spokesman said in a radio announcement.
Police did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Local resident Tadelech Alemu, who lives near the station in the city center, said the blast there shook the area, but that she did not go outside to investigate because she was afraid.
Several other residents said the blasts could be heard miles away.
Tadesse Tilahun, CEO of the National Oil Corporation, said the explosions were near waiting lines at kerosene collection points.
“It has never happened like that at our stations,” he said. “This is the first time. … It was a human act. It was not an accident on its own.”
The corporation has 12 stations in the Ethiopian capital and about 80 around the country. All were open Tuesday although employees conducted security checks on incoming cars.
Ethiopia held elections last weekend for local, regional and some federal positions. The international rights group Human Rights Watch said the ballot was marred by intimidation of opposition candidates. The country is also embroiled in a border dispute with Eritrea, and is battling rebels in its ethnically Somali Ogaden region.
