Internet and phone services cut in Ethiopia's Tigray region after clashes erupt

Internet and telephone services have been disrupted in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region following clashes that erupted on Wednesday between Tigrayan regional forces and the federal army. Services from the state-owned operator Ethio Telecom have been completely cut in the region, while the much smaller private provider Safaricom remains operational.

Internet monitoring group NetBlocks had earlier reported that network data pointed to a sub-national internet shutdown in northern Tigray.

Duke Burbridge, an American humanitarian worker based in Tigray's capital, Mekelle, told the BBC's Newsday programme that communications were knocked out overnight. He said the region had already been experiencing a scarcity of cash for the past eight months, with residents unable to access ATMs, making the loss of internet access "devastating for everybody." Many people in Tigray rely on banking and mobile money apps for everyday transactions, most of which run on the Ethio Telecom and Safaricom networks.

The clashes between Tigrayan forces and their allies on one side and Ethiopia's federal troops on the other have heightened tensions in the region and triggered reports of panic buying among residents. The BBC has contacted Ethiopian authorities for comment.

Echoes of the civil war

During the two-year civil war that ended in 2022, Tigray was completely cut off from the outside world, with limited access to cash, food and medicine pushing hundreds of thousands of people into famine-like conditions. The latest developments have raised concerns that the region could once again face similar hardship.