Comoros (the)
Reports and measurements indicate that Internet connectivity in the island nation of Comoros was severely disrupted during a period of unrest and protests following the re-election of President Azali Assoumani. Media reports are stating the government is behind the disruption but we have not yet been able to independently confirm this.
Measurements from IODA indicated that BGP routes were restored around 11:00 UTC on 18 January 2024. However, Cloudflare Radar continued to show access disruption at Comores Telecom (AS36939) until around 15:00 UTC on 19 January 2024.
Internet shutdowns during protests or civil unrest impact the ability of citizens to get accurate information from government sources when they need it most. It also becomes harder for citizens to contact family members and friends in other parts of the country, or in other countries. We encourage all governments to #KeepItOn.
Data from IODA shows a drop in overall connectivity in Comoros on 17 and 18 January:
Diving a bit more into the data, IODA shows that outage is at Comores Telecom (AS36939), where BGP connectivity drops to zero at multiple points in time:
Cloudflare Radar also shows a drop in traffic from AS36939 to close to zero (the dark blue line) from the previous 48 hours (the dotted line). That traffic now seems to be returning to normal levels.
IODA has picked up an Internet disruption in Comoros Island amidst post election protests. On the ground reports via @accessnow suspect the disruption is an intentional shutdown.
Follow connectivity in near real-time:https://t.co/5nrUA3i5Sv pic.twitter.com/D8ytRXkE1O
— IODA (@IODA_live) January 19, 2024
Significant #Internet disruption in #Comoros since 09:00 UTC on Wednesday, likely related to post-election protests. Major impact to Comores Telecom (AS36939). Traffic currently at ~50% normal levels.https://t.co/sLPLYe0UCDhttps://t.co/1iLgjjFqSq pic.twitter.com/Ds8KK8El79
— Cloudflare Radar (@CloudflareRadar) January 19, 2024