CommercialBank of Ethiopia resumes operation in Tigray after reconnection

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), the largest commercial bank in Ethiopia, began operation on Monday in some towns in region of Tigray, enabling residents to access their funds after a shutdown lasting more than a year.

This is a step towards cementing the signing of a peace deal between the federal government and Tigrayan rebels last month to put an end to the brutal two-year conflict and humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia.

In a statement, CBE said “following the peace agreement reached recently, the (CBE) branches we have in Shire, Alamata and Korem cities have started receiving money sent from abroad and locally as well as depositing money,”.
The statement confirmed that their “bank was forced to suspend its banking services because of the instability in the northern part of the country”

The inking of the November 2 peace deal in South Africa put a stop to fighting between federal troops and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front with the TPLF saying that 65 percent of its forces have “disengaged” from battle lines.

Earlier December, the country’s electricity operator announced that the capital of Tigray had been reconnected to the national power grid after more than a year of cuts caused by the conflict.