Cut submarine cables cause web outages across Africa; 6 countries still affected

Enlarge / View of Le Plateau and Ebrie Lagoon from the top of the Cathedrale St-Paul in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), one of the affected countries. (credit: Getty)

Thirteen countries across Africa experienced Internet outages on Thursday due to damage to submarine fiber optic cables. Some countries, including Ghana and Nigeria, are still suffering from nationwide outages.

Multiple network providers reported Internet outages yesterday, and Cloudflare's Radar tool, which monitors Internet usage patterns, detailed how the outage seemingly moved from the northern part of West Africa to South Africa. All 13 countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, The Gambia, and Togo) reportedly suffered nationwide outages, with most seeing multiple networks hit.

Some countries' Internet disruptions were short-lived, such as in Gambia and Guinea, as they lasted for 30 minutes, per Cloudflare. Other outages, like in South Africa (five hours) were longer, and some remain ongoing. As of this writing, Cloudflare reports that six countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Côte d'Ivoire, are still suffering outages.