ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia restored mobile internet access in the capital city Addis Ababa on Wednesday, after a 48 hours blackout.
The Ethiopian government hasn't given an official explanation on the reason for the mobile internet access cut which started on Tuesday or why the internet blackout was restricted to Addis Ababa and its surroundings, but it came amidst deadly unrest in and around the city that left around 30 people dead.
It is estimated that the majority of Ethiopia's 50 million plus mobile phone users browse webpages largely or exclusively through their mobile handsets.
Deadly ethnic violence in the weekend in Burayu town, on the outskirts of Addis Ababa between local ethnic Oromos and other ethnicities left at least 23 people dead and around 4,500 people displaced.
The weekend attack followed recent clashes in Addis Ababa among local residents and youth from surrounding ethnic Oromo areas who flocked to the city to celebrate the return of the exiled rebel leader of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) group that has been fighting insurgency for self-determination of Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, the Oromos.
Addis Ababa is an ethnically-mixed city of around 4 million people, but is situated within the larger Oromo-dominated Oromia regional state.
Video footage and digital pictures showing dead bodies and looted properties in Burayu town started appearing on Sunday morning, prompting angry street protests in Addis Ababa on Monday.
Thousands of people on Monday protested in Addis Ababa against the killing of civilians and property damage, urging the Ethiopian government to take action and protect civilians.
During the protest, however, five people were shot dead as confrontations rose between security forces and angry demonstrators.
