Ethiopia vows to end communications blackout as virus cases rise

Mobile phone users in Johannesburg, South Africa, March 20. Meanwhile in Ethiopia, communications had been cut in the area known as Wollega, since early January. — AP

ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia on March 31 vowed to restore phone and Internet service to a restive portion of the country's west amid criticism that a months-long shutdown was depriving millions of vital information about the coronavirus pandemic.

Communications had been cut in the area known as Wollega, located in the Oromia region, since early January, when the military ramped up operations against a rebel group known as the Oromo Liberation Army.