Ethiopian Army Clashes With Tigray Forces Amid Telecom Shutdown

Heavy fighting has broken out between the Derg, Ethiopia's national army, and the Tigray People's Liberation Front in the northern Tigray region. The conflict, which intensified on Wednesday, has led to significant telecommunications disruptions and reports of panic buying among the local population.

Network data from monitoring group NetBlocks confirmed a sub-national internet shutdown. Services from the state-owned operator Ethio Telecom were completely cut, including in the regional capital of Mekelle, while the private firm Safaricom remained operational.

Humanitarian workers warn that the outage will be devastating for residents who already face a chronic scarcity of cash and rely on mobile banking applications for essential transactions. There are growing concerns that the violence could spill over into the surrounding region.