Ethiopia partially restores electricity to restive northern region

Ethiopia has partially restored electricity supply to the country's restive northern Tigray regional state, Ethiopian authorities have said.

In a press statement, the Ethiopia Electricity Power (EEP) said electricity has been partially restored to Tigray's regional capital Mekelle and other regional cities since Wednesday noon. The partial power restoration came after technicians from EEP managed to repair the damaged electricity transmission lines, according to the EEP statement.

The Tigray regional state had been in a total electricity blackout since Feb. 17, due to a "sabotage" on a high voltage electricity transmission line running from the southern Tigray city of Alamata to Mekelle.The Ethiopian government had previously blamed the sabotage by "Junta remnants" on the Alamata-Mekelle high voltage electricity transmission line for the massive electricity blackout.

The term "Junta remnants" is used to refer to forces aligned with the ex-ruling party of the Tigray region, Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) which is currently engaged in conflict with forces of the federal Ethiopian government. Months of fighting between the TPLF, which used to rule the Tigray regional state, and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces has reportedly left thousands of people dead, hundreds of thousands of others displaced, and millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. According to Ethiopian government figures, the conflict has displaced around 2.2 million people, while 4.5 million people are in need of emergency aid.

According to Ethiopian government figures, the Tigray region conflict has resulted in the displacement of around 2.2 million people, while 4.5 million people in total are in need of emergency aid.