Cairo, Oct 6, 2019 – Egypt has urged international mediation over what it called “deadlock” in talks in Sudan over a massive dam under construction on the Nile River, sparking fresh tensions with Ethiopia. Negotiations between the three countries have been at a stalemate for years after Ethiopia began constructing the Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile in 2012. But Egypt is concerned the huge dam will severely reduce its water supplies and says it has “historic rights” to the river guaranteed by decades-old treaties. Its main tributaries — the White Nile and the Blue Nile — converge in Khartoum before it flows through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. Analysts fear that the three Nile basin countries could be drawn into a conflict if the dispute is not resolved before the dam begins operating.

Source: The North Africa Journal October 06, 2019 10:18 UTC