Ethiopia's conflict-torn northern Tigray region has been hit by an electricity blackout, the government said Wednesday, blaming the outage on the ousted ruling party in the semi-autonomous zone. Tigray has been the theatre of fighting since early November 2020, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced military operations against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), accusing them of attacking federal army camps. In a press statement, the state utility firm Ethiopia Electricity Power (EEP) said TPLF "remnants" had attacked a high-voltage line carrying electricity to Mekele, "causing total electricity blackout in the region". But their presence has been described by residents, aid workers and even some civilian and military officials in Tigray. "The Ethiopian federal government should force the Eritrean and Amhara region security forces to leave the Tigray region.

Source: Ethiopian News February 17, 2021 17:26 UTC