Ethiopia is allowing people to access Facebook, Telegram, Tik Tok and YouTube for the first time in more than five months.

The blackout was imposed on February 9 this year after tensions between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the government.

Only those with access to virtual private network (VPN) software could get on to the social media platforms – something that cost them additional data.

The Orthodox Church faced a split in February when some archbishops from the Oromia region said they wanted to form a new synod as they wanted to hold services on the Oromo language.