blue nile dust

Ethiopia has completed the filling of a massive dam on the Blue Nile River for a second year, an official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday, in a move that is likely to raise further tensions with Egypt and Sudan, which have long protested against project. "The first filling was already made last year. The second is already ready today. So today or tomorrow, the second filling will be announced," the official said, adding that there is now enough water stored to start producing energy. The…

On Thursday, UN Security Council members tried to resolve the long-running dispute between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan over the operation of Addis Ababa's giant hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile. Members supported the African Union's mediation work and called on all parties to continue the talks. Egypt and Sudan both called on the UN Security Council to help resolve the dispute after Ethiopia began filling the reservoir earlier this week behind the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) for a second…

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will meet on Thursday to discuss the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as regional tensions escalate. Earlier this week, Egypt and Sudan said Ethiopia had begun the second phase of filling the reservoir, an operation not yet confirmed by Addis Ababa. The Nile is 6,695 kilometers and is one of the world's longest rivers and a major supplier of water and hydropower in a largely dry region. Its more than 3 million square kilometers (1.16 million square…

Ethiopia says it has begun the next phase of filling a controversial mega-dam on the Nile, Egyptian authorities said on Monday, raising tensions ahead of an upcoming UN Security Council on the issue. Egypt said the move was "a violation of international laws and standards governing projects built on the common basins of international rivers", and had expressed its "firm refusal to take this unilateral action", its Ministry of Irrigation said in a statement late Monday. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance…

Arab states have called on the UN Security Council to hold a discussion on Ethiopia's controversial plan to fill a new hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile, said Arab League Secretary-General Aboul Gheit. Ethiopia attaches its hopes for economic development and power generation to the dam. Egypt trusts the river for as much as 90% of its fresh water and sees the dam as a potential existential threat. Sudan is concerned about the operation of its own Nile dams and water stations. The foreign ministers of the Arab League,…

Sudan's prime minister has invited his Egyptian and Ethiopian counterparts to discuss a resolution on issues surrounding Ethiopia's plans to build a dam on a tributary of the Nile, his office said on Wednesday. Last week, talks with the three countries hosting the President of the African Union, Congo, failed to reach a binding agreement on the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the filling of its large reservoir. Ever since construction began in 2011, Egypt has viewed the dam…

As the latest round of negotiations between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt over Ethiopia's plans to build a dam on a tributary of the Nile failed to bring anything of value to the table and tensions between African nations continue to rise, Cairo and Uganda have signed an agreement on the division of military intelligence. According to a statement from Uganda's National Defense Force (UPDF) released late on Wednesday, the agreement was signed between UPDF's Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) and the…

Following the latest failure of negotiations between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan over the Blue Nile Dam, Addis Ababa stated on Wednesday that it will not discourage throwing water on the mega dam and leaving neighbors apprehensive about their water provide. The massive Ethiopian Renaissance dam has been a supply of pressure within the Nile River since Ethiopia broke floor in 2011. Downstream neighbors Egypt and Sudan see the dam as a menace as a consequence of their dependence on the Nile, whereas…