Ethiopia hits out at Egypt as Nile Dam dispute escalates
Ethiopia has called on Egypt to “abandon its aggressive approach” toward the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the River Nile, as tensions between the two countries continue to escalate.
This statement follows a letter Egypt sent to the UN Security Council last week, accusing Ethiopia of violating international law by continuing to fill the dam without an agreement from downstream countries.
In its response to the Security Council, Ethiopia rejected what it described as “a litany of unfounded allegations” from Cairo.
This latest exchange is part of a long-standing dispute that dates back to 2011 when Ethiopia began constructing the GERD on the Blue Nile, a tributary that contributes 85% of the Nile’s waters.
Egypt views the dam as a critical threat to its water supply, as the country relies almost entirely on the Nile for its water and fears that the dam could disrupt the river’s flow. Egypt also asserts that two colonial-era treaties grant it the right to veto upstream projects.
For Ethiopia, however, the GERD, set to become Africa’s largest hydroelectric plant, is crucial for the country’s development and for providing electricity to millions of households. The dam is nearing completion, with the reservoir being filled with water since 2020, and it has already begun generating power.
Egypt, along with Sudan—through which the Nile also flows—has raised concerns that their essential water supplies could be threatened, particularly in the event of consecutive years of drought.
Despite multiple diplomatic efforts, the parties have failed to reach a binding agreement, with the most recent negotiations ending in December last year amid mutual accusations of intransigence.
In its letter to the Security Council, Ethiopia accused Egypt of being “only interested in perpetuating its self-claimed monopoly” over the Nile.
Tensions in the Horn of Africa have heightened in recent weeks, particularly after Egypt signed a military pact with Somalia, Ethiopia’s eastern neighbor. Relations between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa have soured since Ethiopia signed an agreement in January with the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, granting Ethiopia access to the sea and the potential use of the coastline for a naval base. Somalia, which considers Somaliland part of its territory, condemned the agreement as an act of aggression.
This weekend, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed warned against any potential attacks on his country, stating that anyone attempting to invade, whether “from afar or nearby,” would be repelled. He did not specify which country he was referring to.
Credit: BBC
