A communications blackout in the region, in place since Ethiopian forces withdrew and announced a unilateral ceasefire last week, has made it difficult to determine the situation in Tigray and its capital Mekelle. But on Saturday, CNN was able to reach its producer on the ground who reports a blockade on Tigray by Ethiopian forces has been ongoing since June 25.
All air travel into Mekelle has been halted by the federal government and eyewitnesses tell CNN that Amhara militia and Ethiopian government forces are obstructing roads out of the city. There has been a full services blackout there — power, phone, internet — for nearly a week, CNN’s producer reports.
Because of the power outage most homes have no running water. Banks cannot operate as their network is down, so people have no access to their own money, CNN’s producer added.
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement on Friday the World Food Programme (WFP) had been able to resume some of its operations in Tigray…