ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia’s water minister denied reports Wednesday that the government had begun filling a massive hydroelectric dam that has caused severe tensions with Egypt and led some to fear military conflict, while Cairo swiftly asked for clarification. Media outlets reported the government had begun filling after Minister Sileshi Bekele confirmed to the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation that satellite images from recent days showed the dam’s reservoir swelling. The minister told The Associated Press, however, that the images reflected heavy rains, saying that inflow was greater than the outflow. He later tweeted saying it had created “natural pooling.”On Tuesday, International Crisis Group analyst William Davison told the AP that images captured on July 9 by a European Space Agency satellite likely show a “natural backing-up of water behind the dam.”

Source: International New York Times July 15, 2020 15:19 UTC