Telecom services have restarted in Mekelle, the rebel held capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region after an 18 months long blackout, Ethio-Telecom CEO Frehiwot Tamiru disclosed on Wednesday.
The Ethio-Telecom CEO told journalists a successful phone call was made on Wednesday after more than a year of communications blackout caused by conflict.
Frehiwot said the restoration of communications service in Mekelle city has enabled 61 bank branches to resume giving services, according to Ethiopia Broadcasting Corporate.
Earlier today, Ethiopian Airlines (ET) resumed flights to Mekelle two days after a delegation of high level Ethiopian government officials visited the city, the first time since the conflict erupted in November 2020.
The restart of telecom and air services comes as the two months anniversary of the Pretoria peace agreement approaches.
Ethiopia has for the past two years been embroiled in a devastating two year old conflict between Ethiopia government allied troops and the fighters loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which left hundreds of thousands dead and millions more displaced and needing urgent humanitarian aid.
