Internet Access Disrupted in Ethiopia's Tigray Region Amid Renewed Fighting

Access to the internet has been disrupted in northern Ethiopia's Tigray region, the web monitor NetBlocks reported on Friday.

The region has been the site of renewed hostilities this week that shattered a 2022 peace deal between Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) militia.

During the 2020-2022 Tigray war, the region was largely cut off from the outside world and hundreds of thousands of people were left in famine-like conditions.

"Confirmed: Network data indicate a subnational disruption in ⁠northern ⁠Ethiopia corresponding to reports of a telecoms blackout in Tigray," NetBlocks said.

The cause of the disruption was not immediately clear.

The Reuters news agency cited Tigray residents saying panic buying left shop shelves empty.

"There is deep fear that banks, telecom networks, electricity and basic goods could be cut off again," a local resident told the AFP news agency, adding that there was "panic in the community."

TPLF offensive sparks fear of return to war

The TPLF took control of regional airports in Tigray earlier this week and also clashed with government forces in the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions. The militia said it was now in "full-blown war" with Addis Ababa.

The group also formed an anti-government alliance with the Fano militia in Amhara and five other armed groups.

In the 2022-2023 war, Fano fought alongside the federal government against the Tigrayan rebels.

The TPLF ruled Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018 and was later sidelined alongside the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.