Ethiopia's Digital Blackouts: Shutting Down Accountability

Aemro Worku Ayalew January 19th, 2026 Ethiopia’s digital blackouts are an attempt to turn off accountability Ethiopia’s government has systematically cut off internet access during armed conflicts, hiding human rights abuses and preventing journalists from reporting on violence. Aemro Ayalew argues that internet shutdowns have become a core tool for preventing accountability in Ethiopia. Over the past six years, Ethiopia has experienced some of the most severe internet shutdowns in Africa. The Tigray region lost internet access for nearly two years, from November 2020 to February 2023, during conflict in the region. During this time, the government severed mobile networks, landlines, and the internet, preventing journalists, humanitarian workers, and international observers from reporting on the war or verifying what sources told them was happening on the ground. This wasn’t an isolated incident. When armed clashes erupted between the Fano militia and federal forces in Amhara in 2023, the internet went down again, this time for about 11 months. In Oromia, where there have been frequent conflicts between the Oromo Liberation Front and the federal government, shutdowns have been more frequent and scattered but no less damaging. Nationwide outages have also occurred during moments of political unrest. These include in 2019, when senior Amhara regional officials, including the regional president Ambachew Mekonnen, were assassinated, and in 2020 following the killing of the famous Oromo singer Hachalu Hundessa. The scale of these shutdowns is staggering. Tigray alone experienced over two years of near-continuous blackout. Amhara’s more intermittent disruptions totalled roughly 345 days, while Oromia saw scattered outages totalling 90 to 120 days across three years. Even nationwide shutdowns, though shorter, affected the entire country, including the capital, Addis Ababa, disrupting everything from banking to business to basic communication between families separated by conflict. Shutdowns hide what’s happening Internet shutdowns don’t just silence voices; they can help erase evidence of atrocities from public view. With no connectivity, security forces operate without witnesses, aid groups scramble blindly, and global watchdogs remain in the dark about mass displacements, hospital bombings, and extrajudicial killings in conflict zones. Spatial analysis of internet shutdown patterns and conflict deaths across Ethiopia reveals a troubling correlation: regions with the longest blackouts experienced the highest numbers of conflict-related deaths. Tigray, which endured nearly 787 days of shutdown, also suffered the highest casualties and one of the worst humanitarian crises in decades. Amhara followed a similar pattern, with shutdowns coinciding with significant military operations and civilian deaths. This isn’t a coincidence; it’s a deliberate strategy. Internet shutdowns create an information vacuum, allowing government authorities to control the narrative. They can deny atrocities that journalists cannot document. They can suppress opposition voices while controlling what citizens see and hear. When researchers studied similar shutdowns in other conflict zones like Sudan, Kashmir, and Myanmar, the pattern was identical: digital blackouts enabled human rights violations to occur with impunity. The humanitarian cost is enormous. Without internet access, people in crisis zones cannot contact family members to confirm they’re alive. Aid organisations struggle to deliver assistance efficiently. Hospitals can’t access medical information or coordinate emergency response. The information blackout doesn’t just silence reporting; it puts lives at risk. A growing strategy of digital control What’s alarming is how normalised internet shutdowns have become in Ethiopia. They are no longer emergency measures only used during declared crises. Instead, the government uses them routinely as a crisis management tool, deployed whenever unrest emerges or during military operations. This reflects a broader global trend: 2024 saw a record 296 internet shutdowns across 54 countries—a 35 per cent increase over previous years. Myanmar, India, Pakistan, and Russia lead the way, but Ethiopia’s experience shows this is becoming standard practice across Africa too. Internet blackouts are enforced through government orders to the country’s telecom operators. In the case of Ethiopia, this is primarily the state-controlled Ethio-Telecom. These directives compel operators to disrupt services regionally or nationwide by cutting backbone access, throttling networks, or blocking sites, rendering independent reporting, evidence collection, and cross-regional coordination nearly impossible. What needs to change Ensuring digital rights must become central to peace agreements and humanitarian efforts in Ethiopia. International tech companies, human rights organisations, and global bodies need to develop rapid response mechanisms to counter shutdowns, including satellite-based communication tools and training for humanitarian workers on using secure technologies. These aren’t luxury additions; they’re essential infrastructure for accountability and survival. At the national level, pressure must mount on the Ethiopian government to legally prohibit internet shutdowns outside of genuinely limited, publicly declared states of emergency. These restrictions should be subject to judicial review and international oversight. Other democracies have resisted using shutdowns as a governance tool; Ethiopia should too. For researchers and journalists, Ethiopia’s case shows that conflicts don’t disappear when the internet does. They simply become far harder to document, address, or hold anyone accountable for. While past generations managed redress through radio, couriers, or envoys, today’s reliance on digital tools means shutdowns amplify isolation, delay international response, and shield abuses from scrutiny. The question isn’t whether Ethiopia can afford digital access during crises. The question is whether it can afford the cost of silencing them. Photo credit: Pexels About the author Aemro Worku Ayalew Aemro Worku Ayalew is a public policy researcher at Virginia Commonwealth University and former lecturer at Injibara University. He has published research on poverty and environmental issues in Ethiopia. Posted In: Technology