Ethiopia has said Egypt must abandon its “aggressive approach” over a controversial hydroelectric project on the River Nile as tensions between the two countries continue to rise.
Addis Ababa was responding to a letter Egypt sent to the UN Security Council last week accusing Ethiopia of violating international law by continuing to fill the dam without the consent of downstream countries.
In its letter to the Security Council, Ethiopia rejected what it called a “litany of unfounded allegations” from Cairo.
This latest round in a long-running conflict comes as Egypt seeks to build closer military ties with Ethiopia’s neighbor, Somalia, which itself has a dispute with Ethiopia.
The dispute dates back to 2011, when Ethiopia began construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) on the Blue Nile, a tributary that carries 85% of the Nile’s water.
Egypt sees this as an existential issue, as it is almost entirely dependent on the river for its water and fears the dam could disrupt the river’s flow. It also says two colonial-era treaties guarantee it veto power over upstream projects.
But for Ethiopia, the massive project, set to become Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam, is an integral part of efforts to develop the country and bring electricity to millions of households.
The dam is almost complete. The reservoir has been filling with water since 2020 and is already generating electricity.
Egypt and Sudan, which also have the Nile flowing through them, are concerned that their vital water supplies will be threatened, especially if there are consecutive years of drought.
Several diplomatic attempts to reach a binding agreement have failed.
The most recent attempts ended in December last year, with both countries accusing each other of intransigence.
In a letter to the Security Council, Ethiopia wrote that Egypt “is only interested in perpetuating its self-declared monopoly” over the river.
Tensions in the Horn of Africa have risen in recent weeks, especially after Egypt and Ethiopia’s eastern neighbor Somalia signed a military pact.
Relations between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa deteriorated after landlocked Ethiopia signed an agreement in January with the self-declared Republic of Somaliland over access to the sea and the possible use of its coastline for a naval base.
Somalia considers Somaliland as part of its territory and said the agreement was an act of aggression.
This weekend, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed warned of attacks on his countryand said that anyone who dared to invade the country from “far and near” would be repelled.
He did not specify which country he was referring to.
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