Media caption,

Satellite images show Tigray is gone.

The conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region has caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Electricity supplies are shut down and the cities are black.

Ethiopia's troops and militias, along with soldiers from neighboring ally Eritrea, appear to be gaining the upper hand against Tigrayan forces.

On Tuesday, Ethiopia said its army had taken control of the towns of Alamata and Korem, which lie to the south of the regional capital, Mekelle.

The UN, African Union and the US are worried that the resurgence of heavy warfare could make the situation worse.

The new data from the Tigray Bureau of Health shows how the blockade on the region has affected young children.

Four months before the war broke out, the number of children under the age of five who have died from malnutrition increased by 1,500%.

According to the Tigray Health Bureau data, there were 2,450 children who died in hospitals between July 2021.

People at a hospital in Mekelle, Ethiopia, following an airstrike outside the city in June 2021Image source, AFP
Image caption, A recent academic study estimates total civilian deaths in Tigray - caused by the fighting,starvation and lack of health care - stand at between 385,000 and 600,000

The information that 70% of children found to be severely malnourished have not been treated because of a lack of food and medicine has to be included in the numbers.

This year has seen the death of one of the children. The first report on his case was by the British Broadcasting Corporation. He was three months old when he weighed less than he did at birth. After they lost their jobs, his parents ran out of money. He died a month after being admitted to the Ayder Referral Hospital.

The trajectory of the conflict can be mapped by looking at the light levels in the cities of Aksum and Mekelle. The light that is emitted from each city is compared to the access to electricity in that city.

The federal government of Ethiopia has been accused of cutting off Tigray, a region that used to have consistent power before the war.

According to an investigation published in September by the UN's International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia, the government stopped electricity, internet and telecommunications in Tigray on the day of the conflict.

There was a sharp fall in light over the city of Aksum. When the government takes control of the lights in the two cities, they will get stronger.

The city is well-lit until July 2021. During the seven months it was under government control, it fell within the first month.

"After Tigrayan forces regained control of large parts of Tigray, including Mekelle, the federal government shut down electricity, internet, and banking services for the region," the UN report says.

The only power source for Tigray's seven million people was bombed in December of 2011.

After the dam was bombed, the lights in Mekelle suddenly went dark. Getachew Assefa is a Canada-based academic.

The condition of the two turbines that are being used is dire. The two turbines that are working are inefficient as they have several faults that could have been fixed if spare parts were accessible, according to the associate professor of sustainable design.

According to Prof Getachew, Tigray is home to the largest wind farm in Africa, but it has been out of action during the conflict.

A man works along a road near turbines at Ashegoda wind farm in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, on November 28, 2013Image source, AFP
Image caption, A herder seen by Tigray's Ashegoda windfarm, pictured a few years before conflict erupted

Engineers there have been able to get 19 turbine working, but can't get them to feed into a grid for Tigray.

Mekelle gets darker and darker as the summer progresses.

Prof Getachew says that some of the patchiness can be attributed to the fact that the power plant isn't able to produce electricity all the time.

The government of Ethiopia still denies blocking access to electricity, banks and communications in Tigray, even though it has taken over the city's airport.

The coalition of forces is moving eastwards from Shire to Aksum, Adwa and Adigrat, according to sources on the front line.

The conflict began almost two years ago when the Ethiopia government seized the town of Shire and proceeded to take the other towns before taking Mekelle.

Map: Ethiopia

Half a million people live in the city and it is a frightening time.

The war has gotten worse. When will the drones arrive? A nurse at the Ayder Referral Hospital asked if my children were alive.

The aid worker said that her colleagues were also going hungry.

She said that the entire population is starving. Hundreds and thousands of people are trying to get help. Scores of people are starving in their homes.

They are afraid of reprisals from the Ethiopia and Eritrea troops.

Even if a blockade is lifted, the war will have a long lasting impact on the region's infrastructure.

There are reports that items are being shipped back to Eritrea after the town was taken over by the troops.

They will keep on with what is left of the electricity infrastructure.

  • Tigray People's Liberation Front
  • Ethiopian civil war
  • Ethiopia