Tensions escalate between Egypt, Ethiopia with no end in sight of Nile dam dispute
Ethiopia has recently accused Egypt of unilaterally using Nile River waters via a project approved in 1995; Cairo says upstream countries are not affected and that it has all the rights to use the Nile waters.
CAIRO — The Ethiopian delegate to the United Nations, Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie, has accused Egypt of unilaterally using Nile River waters. His charge comes as Cairo and Addis Ababa continue to have heated exchanges about control over the waters of the Nile after Ethiopia announced June 27 its plan to begin filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam within two weeks, without agreeing to rules about storing water and the dam's operation with Egypt and Sudan.
“Egypt took an individual decision to dispose of the waters of the Nile in 1995, and implemented the Toshka Project, which consumes a lot of water,” Selassie said during a UN Security Council videoconference meeting June 29. “Ethiopia filed a complaint protesting this matter in 1995, but there were unilateral steps from Egypt, and participation in the river was not fair, and perhaps we were not listening to each other.”
