CAIRO – Tensions are rising between Egypt and Ethiopia as Addis Ababa approaches water diversion to a massive Nile hydroelectric project, which has been the focus of a decade-long dispute over who controls Africa’s longest river
Talks between officials from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, hosted by the Democratic Republic of Congo, ended without agreement on Tuesday, triggering a new round of heated rhetoric between the two countries.
The Egyptian president on Wednesday suggested the possibility of a conflict with Ethiopia, but said he preferred cooperation in this regard.
“I am telling our brothers in Ethiopia not to touch a drop of water in Egypt, because all options are open,” President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi told a conference in Cairo.
Addis Ababa began construction of the $ 4.8 billion Ethiopian renaissance dam in 2011, part of what the government says is a critical development project that will bring electricity to tens of millions of people who currently rely on firewood. as the main source of fuel.