The internet access for mobile phones were down in certain parts of Amhara region, Ethiopia.
Several flights to the two cities were also called off on Thursday, after days of clashes between the federal military and local militiamen.
The brewing feud between the Ethiopian authorities and the Fano militia –who had previously been allies during the two-year civil war in the Tigray that concluded in November 2022, has blown open this week.
According to a diplomatic source, the conflict had been prompted by an operation by the military to press Fano warriors out of certain areas.
Two Amhara residents in the city’s capital, Bahir Dar, as well as three persons in Gondar, the country’s second-biggest city, had commented that mobile internet services were not accessible on Thursday.
This is no new incident as authorities in Ethiopia have continuously cut internet services over the past few years during periods of civil unrest and conflict in the country.
The spokes representative for the federal government and the Amhara regional administration is yet to make a statement based on these reports.
Fighting had begun in several cities and towns in the country just this week.
A Gondar resident, who is also a local government official, had revealed that the clashes broke out on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday, August 2 and continued on to Thursday.
Fano is the country’s part-time militia with no set command structure.
Its relationship with the federal authorities has gone sour recently over a purported disregard for them by the region’s security.
