CAIRO – Tensions are rising between Egypt and Ethiopia as Addis Ababa moves closer to diverting water to a massive hydroelectric project on the Nile, which has been at the center 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 Tuesday without an agreement, sparking a new round of rhetoric between the two countries.
Egypt’s president on Wednesday hinted at the possibility of conflict with Ethiopia, but said he preferred cooperation on the issue.
“I tell our brothers in Ethiopia: Do not 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 Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in 2011, which is 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 their main fuel. .