Mekele Power Restored

FILE - People are seen in front of clouds of black smoke from fires in the aftermath at the scene of an airstrike in Mekele, the capital of the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia on Oct. 20, 2021

Power services have been restored in Mekele, the capital of Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, for the first time in over a year, state-affiliated Fana Broadcast said on Tuesday.

The power supply was disrupted after war erupted in Tigray in November 2020, pitting regional forces against federal troops and their allies from the neighboring Amhara region and from Eritrea.

Fana quoted state-run Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) spokesperson Moges Mekonen as saying power was restored after maintenance of a 230 kv high voltage line was completed.

The two sides, the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces, signed a permanent cessation of hostilities on Nov. 2 after talks mediated by the African Union in South Africa.

The fighting has killed thousands, displaced millions and left hundreds of thousands facing famine.