Disconnected for more than a year because of the war raging in Tigray, the regional capital, Mekele, has been reconnected to the national electricity grid, the national electricity company of Ethiopia announced on Tuesday evening December 6.

This news comes just over a month after the signing of a peace agreement on November 2 between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigrayan rebels, intended to end two years of devastating conflict. 

"The electricity control center in Mekele town, which had been disconnected from the national electricity grid for more than a year due to the war in northern Ethiopia, has been reconnected," a statement said. Ethiopia's National Electricity Company.

"The (Mekele) line was connected to the national power grid after the repair works were completed," she said.

Access and communications to part of northern Ethiopia, including Tigray, are restricted or prohibited and it is impossible to independently verify the situation on the ground.

A deadly conflict

Ethiopia's northernmost region is at the heart of a devastating conflict that began in November 2020, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent the federal army to arrest leaders in the region who had challenged his authority for months. and whom he accused of attacking federal military bases.

It has been deprived for more than a year of many basic services (telecommunications, banking, fuel, etc.).

The government and the rebels signed, on November 2, in Pretoria, an agreement providing in particular for a cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal and disarmament of Tigrayan forces, the restoration of federal authority in Tigray and the reopening of access to this region. plunged into a catastrophic humanitarian situation.

On November 15, Abiy Ahmed said during a question-and-answer session with the deputies that the authorities had begun to restore telecommunications and electricity in certain areas affected by the conflict.

The toll of this war punctuated by abuses, which took place largely behind closed doors, is unknown.

The International Crisis Group think tank and the NGO Amnesty International describe it as "one of the deadliest in the world".

The war has also displaced more than two million Ethiopians and plunged hundreds of thousands into near-famine conditions, according to the UN.

With AFP

The summary of the

France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 app