In the highlands of northern Ethiopia, where memory of catastrophe is still fresh, the lights have gone out again. Fighting between Tigray's regional forces and the federal army has severed the region's primary telecommunications network, plunging millions into silence just as the guns begin to speak. The shutdown echoes the communications blackouts of the 2020–2022 civil war, which killed an estimated 600,000 people and pushed the region toward famine — a history that now haunts every unanswered call and failed transaction in Mekelle.
Internet blackout in Ethiopia's Tigray as fighting reignites
Previous two-year civil war (2020-2022) killed approximately 600,000 people and drove the region toward famine; current fighting risks renewed humanitarian crisis.
It's like a curfew has been placed, though no order was issued.
Mark
Why does cutting off the internet matter so much if people are already short on cash?
Mimi
Because cash was already gone. For eight months there's been almost no physical money in circulation. People have been surviving through mobile banking—sending money to each other through apps, paying for things digitally. Without internet, that entire system collapses. You can't access your account. You can't send money. You can't buy food.
Luke
But we should be clear: we don't know for certain the TPLF ordered this. Reuters has sources saying that, but the TPLF hasn't confirmed it. We're reporting what sources claim, not what's been proven.
Mimi
That's fair. What we do know is the blackout happened, it's real, and it happened right as fighting started.
Mark
Is this definitely the start of another full war, or could it be contained?
Mimi
No one knows yet. But the pattern is identical to 2020. Fighting starts. Communications go down. The region gets isolated. Last time that led to 600,000 deaths.
Luke
And we should note: that 600,000 figure is an estimate. It's the widely cited number, but it comes from modeling and research after the fact, not a precise count. The actual toll could be different.
Mark
So people in Mekelle right now—they're essentially trapped and cut off from the outside world, just like before.
Mimi
Exactly. And they remember what happened last time.
El Pulso
- Ethio Telecom's network went dark overnight, cutting phone and internet access to millions of Tigrayans as federal and regional forces clashed near Abala and the heritage site of Lalibela.
- Sources say the TPLF ordered the blackout deliberately to blind government drone operations — a tactical choice that now leaves ordinary civilians unable to access mobile banking in a region already starved of physical cash for eight months.
- Residents like Fitsum describe a city frozen: no currency, no digital payments, people sheltering indoors as if under curfew, with Ethiopian Airlines cancelling all flights and the US State Department warning against travel to the region.
- The TPLF's new alliance with six armed groups and the seizure of three airports signal a rapid, coordinated escalation that risks transforming localized clashes into a second full-scale civil war.
- Aid workers and journalists cannot reach or verify conditions on the ground, recreating the information blackout that masked the scale of suffering during the last war and allowed famine-like conditions to take hold unseen.
In the highlands of northern Ethiopia, where memory of catastrophe is still fresh, the lights have gone out again. Fighting between Tigray's regional forces and the federal army has severed the region's primary telecommunications network, plunging millions into silence just as the guns begin to speak. The shutdown echoes the communications blackouts of the 2020–2022 civil war, which killed an estimated 600,000 people and pushed the region toward famine — a history that now haunts every unanswered call and failed transaction in Mekelle.
Fighting erupted in Ethiopia's Tigray region this week, and within hours the communications infrastructure began to collapse. The state-owned Ethio Telecom network went dark entirely, severing phone and internet service to millions. A smaller private operator, Safaricom, kept its lines open, but the region's primary telecommunications backbone had been cut. Internet monitoring analysts at NetBlocks confirmed the shutdown was deliberate — northern Tigray had been isolated from the outside world.
An American aid worker in Mekelle, the regional capital, described to the BBC how telecommunications simply stopped working overnight. Heavy clashes and drone strikes were reported near the town of Abala and around the heritage site of Lalibela. Sources told Reuters the Tigray People's Liberation Front ordered the blackout specifically to disrupt government drone operations — a tactical decision with devastating civilian consequences.
The timing compounds an already dire situation. For eight months, Tigray has been starved of cash. ATMs have been inaccessible, and people cannot withdraw money. Now, with telecommunications severed, the mobile banking and money transfer systems that had become a lifeline are useless. A Mekelle resident identified only as Fitsum told the BBC there is almost no physical currency in the city, and with fighting underway, people are staying indoors — the city carrying the character of a place under curfew, though no formal order has been issued.
This is not the first time. From 2020 to 2022, a two-year civil war devastated the region under a near-total communications blackout. The isolation pushed hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions, and approximately 600,000 people died — one of the deadliest conflicts of the twenty-first century. The current escalation began on Sunday when the TPLF announced an alliance with six other armed groups aimed at overthrowing the federal government. Three days later, Tigrayan forces seized three airports from federal police. The US State Department has warned against travel to Tigray, Afar, and Amhara.
The BBC cannot currently report from inside the region. The blackout has made verification nearly impossible. What is clear is that the conditions that preceded the last war — isolation, communications failure, military escalation — are returning, and whether this week's fighting becomes a full-scale civil war remains, for now, unknown.
Fighting erupted in Ethiopia's Tigray region this week, and within hours the communications infrastructure began to fail. The state-owned Ethio Telecom network went dark entirely, cutting off phone and internet service to millions. A smaller private operator, Safaricom, kept its lines open, but the damage was already done—the region's primary telecommunications backbone had been severed. Internet monitoring analysts at NetBlocks detected the shutdown almost immediately, confirming that northern Tigray had been deliberately isolated from the outside world.
Duke Burbridge, an American aid worker stationed in Mekelle, the regional capital, described the moment to the BBC: telecommunications simply stopped working overnight. The blackout came as fighting between Tigray's regional forces and Ethiopia's federal army intensified, with reports of heavy clashes and drone strikes in the mountains near the town of Abala and around the heritage site of Lalibela. The Tigray People's Liberation Front, the armed group that controls the region, has not publicly acknowledged ordering the shutdown, but sources told Reuters the TPLF made the decision specifically to disrupt government drone operations.
The timing of the blackout compounds an already dire situation. For the past eight months, Tigray has been starved of cash. ATMs have been inaccessible. People cannot withdraw money. Now, with telecommunications severed, the digital payment systems that have become a lifeline—mobile banking, money transfer apps, basic transactions—have become unusable. Burbridge said the loss of internet would be catastrophic for ordinary residents. A Mekelle resident identified only as Fitsum told the BBC there is almost no physical currency in the city. With fighting now underway, people are staying indoors. The city has taken on the character of a place under curfew, he said, though no formal order has been issued.
This is not the first time Tigray has been cut off. From 2020 to 2022, a two-year civil war devastated the region. During that conflict, communications were shut down entirely. The isolation, combined with the fighting itself, pushed hundreds of thousands of people into famine-like conditions. Estimates suggest approximately 600,000 people died during those two years—making it one of the deadliest conflicts of the twenty-first century. Food, medicine, and cash all became scarce. Aid organizations could not reach the population. The world could not see what was happening inside.
The current escalation began on Sunday when the TPLF announced an alliance with six other armed groups aimed at overthrowing the federal government. Three days later, on Wednesday, Tigrayan forces seized control of three airports from federal police. Ethiopian Airlines immediately cancelled all flights to the region. The US State Department has now warned against travel to Tigray, Afar, and Amhara. A humanitarian source in neighboring Afar reported heavy fighting overnight, including drone strikes, as federal forces attempted to prevent rebel forces from advancing into the town of Abala.
The BBC cannot currently report from inside Tigray or the surrounding areas. Even before the communications blackout, establishing what was actually happening on the ground has been difficult. Most video and images circulating online have come from outside the region or from Mekelle itself. The blackout has made verification nearly impossible. What is clear is that the conditions that preceded the 2020-2022 war—isolation, communications failure, military escalation—are returning. Whether this week's fighting becomes a full-scale civil war, and whether it will again drive the region toward famine, remains unknown.
Citas Notables
Last night telecommunications got knocked out.— Duke Burbridge, American humanitarian worker in Mekelle
There is almost no cash in the city.— Fitsum, a Mekelle resident
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