Star Metro - Internet disrupted in Ethiopia as conflict rages

Rebels in the northern Tigray region seized local airports and launched attacks into neighbouring states this week, saying they were once again in a "full-blown war" with the federal government.

Locals fear a repeat of the telecoms blackout and supplies blockade imposed on Tigray by the federal government during the last civil war in 2020-2022 that killed an estimated 600,000 people.

"Network data indicate a subnational internet disruption in northern Ethiopia corresponding to reports of a telecoms blackout in Tigray," Netblocks said on X.

AFP was unable to contact sources by phone in Tigray on Friday.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) launched offensives into Amhara and Afar regions on Wednesday, saying they were responding to attacks by federal forces.

There was heavy fighting in North Wollo Zone of Amhara on Thursday, including around the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Lalibela, home to Ethiopia's famed rock churches.

Analysts say the Tigrayans appear to be repeating their strategy from the last war -- pushing south through Amhara towards the capital, Addis Ababa, while the offensive in Afar is likely aimed at cutting off supplies from Djibouti, which provides almost all of Ethiopia's international trade cargo, including fuel.

- Panic buying -

Back in Tigray, prices for basic goods spiked as locals raced to stock up on supplies.

"There is panic in the community," said Samuel Gebreslassie, 37, who works in a spice shop in the Tigray capital, Mekelle.

"There is deep fear that banks, telecom networks, electricity and basic goods could be cut off again."

The TPLF forged an anti-government alliance last weekend with the Fano in Amhara and five other armed groups around the country.

The conflict could also draw in neighbouring Eritrea, which fears landlocked Ethiopia is planning to invade it to gain access to the Red Sea.

The dynamics have changed since the last civil war, when the Fano and Eritrea both fought with the government against the Tigrayans, only to be frustrated when a peace deal was signed in 2022.

The TPLF ruled the whole of Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018 before being sidelined with the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, eventually triggering the civil war.

The Pretoria Peace Agreement of 2022 maintained an uneasy calm until last year, but was never fully implemented.

Sporadic clashes then resumed, with the federal forces launching multiple drone strikes in Tigray in recent months and massing troops at the border.

Rights groups have accused the TPLF of a campaign of forced recruitment this year as it prepared for renewed conflict, even as around one million people remained displaced from the last war.

X.Gaboury--SMC