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Multiple West African countries experienced significant internet disruptions due to damage to submarine communications cables. Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso were most affected, while Cameroon, Gabon, Namibia, and Niger reported lesser disruptions. Telecom operators like MTN Group and Vodacom worked to divert traffic and repair cables, but specifics on the damage were not provided. The incidents highlight the vulnerability of global internet connectivity reliant on undersea fiber optic cables.

ABIDJAN — Major internet connection outages occurred in numerous African countries on Thursday as a result of damage to submarine communications cables, according to telecom carriers.

“Breaks in multiple major undersea cables have affected connectivity services in several West African countries,” the South African operator MTN Group wrote on X.

It stated that it was attempting to divert internet traffic via “alternative network paths” and was working with partners to repair the cables, but did not provide any specifics about the damage.

Ivory Coast bore the brunt of the cuts, followed by Liberia, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso.

According to the global internet surveillance group NetBlocks, less severe disruptions were reported in Cameroon, Gabon, Namibia, and Niger, and to a lesser extent in Nigeria and South Africa.

In South Africa, operator Vodacom stated on X that the “connectivity issues” were caused by multiple undersea cable outages, but did not provide any information.

The majority of the world’s internet traffic is sent by a network of fiber optic cables built along seafloors, one of which is 15,000 kilometers (9,300 miles) long and runs from Portugal to South Africa.