Fighting in northern Ethiopia spurs fears of blackout and blockade

Tigray was cutoff from the world during the 2020-2022 civil war, which killed around 600,000 people.Fears of a communications blackout in northern Ethiopia have increased as fighting flares between the federal military and forces from the Tigray region and ⁠their allies.Telecom and internet networks were reported to have stopped working on Friday as the conflict threatened to develop across the country into a full-scale war.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Can Ethiopia’s seven-group rebel alliance challenge Abiy Ahmed?list 2 of 4Fighting widens across Ethiopia as Tigray clashes escalatelist 3 of 4Ethiopian army says 272 Tigrayan fighters killed in Amharalist 4 of 4Young men flee Tigray amid fears of forced recruitmentend of listThe interruptions have provoked fears of a repeat of the communications blackout and supplies blockade during the 2020-2022 civil war in ⁠northern Ethiopia, when Tigray was largely cut off from the outside world.Web monitor NetBlocks said it had detected an “internet disruption in northern Ethiopia corresponding to reports of a telecoms blackout in Tigray”.The Reuters news agency reported that Tigray’s ruling party, the Tigray-peoples-liberation-front" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="176389" data-entity-type="organization">Tigray People’s Liberation Front, had ordered private operator Safaricom and state-owned Ethio telecom to cut off access ⁠to phone and internet networks in the region.Full-scale warA source said the restrictions may be part of a tactic to neutralise the advantage of government forces using battlefield drones.Lower-level clashes between federal and Tigrayan forces have been ongoing for some time. However, fighting intensified this week across Tigray and later spread to the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions, after seven armed groups announced they have formed an alliance.The Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival has committed itself to removing the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.The Tigray-army" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="209516" data-entity-type="organization">Tigray Army said the federal government had launched a “full-scale offensive” involving infantry, mechanised units and drones, and said its forces had begun what they called a defensive war to counter aggression by Abiy’s government.