The Ethiopian Unity and Freedom Force (EUFF) rebels, who have been active in the area in recent years, cut off the communication lines that link the country via Sudan.
Made landlocked in 1991 with the coming to power of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia depends on Sudan and Djibouti for Internet services via fiber optic cables.
Internet service penetration in Ethiopia is the second lowest in Africa after Sierra Leone. Only 0.4 percent of over 85 million people have access to Internet service, which is painfully slow and often unreliable.
Critics blame the ruling party of Mr. Meles for the near non-existent nature of Internet service in the country. On Tuesday, the media reported that the government has criminilized the use of Voice over Internet (VoIP) services, such as the use of Skype.
Rebel sources said the communication lines were cut off becasue they were mainly being used by the government for espionage purposes, and not for e-commerce or any other civilian use. The government has sent maintenance teams to restore service in the affected areas.
In late April, EUFF rebels burned down over 60 units in the town of Metema, claiming they were disguised business centers of the security agents of the government.
In June 2011, EUFF had also decimated about a dozen stores linked to ruling party officials.
