Cairo to Reject Any Agreement that Undermines Its Water Rights

 Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam is seen as it undergoes construction work on the Nile. Reuters file photo
Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam is seen as it undergoes construction work on the Nile. Reuters file photo
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Cairo to Reject Any Agreement that Undermines Its Water Rights

 Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam is seen as it undergoes construction work on the Nile. Reuters file photo
Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam is seen as it undergoes construction work on the Nile. Reuters file photo

One week ahead of an African Union deadline set for Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan as the latest bid to reach an agreement on the mega-dam that Addis Ababa is building, Cairo threatened to thwart any attempt of transgression of its water rights.

“Egypt will never allow any transgression of its rights or accept any deal underestimating its rights or affecting its people’s lives,” Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Atti said Thursday.

He said his country was keen to show goodwill and cooperate with Ethiopia concerning the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), but Ethiopia hampered the course of negotiations.

In an interview with the DMC satellite channel, the Minister said his country is strong and all its agencies are working on the GERD dispute.

“Ethiopia is withdrawing from all agreements reached during trilateral meeting in Washington and clinging to unilateral filling of the dam,” Abdel Atti said.

Previous rounds of negotiations between the three countries, held virtually from 9-17 June, failed to reach an agreement due to Ethiopia's refusal to enter into a legally binding agreement and its announcement that it will begin filling the dam in July even without approval from the two downstream countries.

“Egypt’s annual quota of Nile water is 55.5 billion cubic meters, expounding that filling the dam during periods of dryness will cause a huge crisis,” Abdel Atti said, adding that Cairo wants a written agreement reassuring both Egyptian and Sudanese people over their rights.

The Minister explained that his country always seeks to achieve stability in the region.

“I am looking forward to make use of the African Union intervention to settle the dam crisis,” Abdel Atti said.



Druze Group ‘Rijal al-Karama’ Rejects Disarmament, Calls for Weapons Regulation in Sweida

Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
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Druze Group ‘Rijal al-Karama’ Rejects Disarmament, Calls for Weapons Regulation in Sweida

Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)

A leading Druze movement said on Sunday that the issue of surrendering arms remains unresolved, even as local leaders in southern Syria announced the official start of implementing a peace agreement brokered by Druze clerics and dignitaries in Sweida province.

Bassem Abu Fakhr, spokesman for the “Rijal al-Karama” movement, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group's weapons were solely for defense and had never been used offensively.

“The matter of handing over weapons falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, and no final decision has been made yet,” Abu Fakhr said. “Our arms have never posed a threat to any party. We have not attacked anyone, and our weapons exist to protect our land and honor.”

He added that while the group does not object to regulating the presence of weapons, full surrender was out of the question.

“We have no issue with organizing arms under state authority, provided they remain within the province’s administrative boundaries and under state supervision,” he said. “But the matter of weapons remains unresolved.”

Formed in 2013, Rijal al-Karama was established to protect the Druze community and prevent its youth from being conscripted into fighting for any side in Syria’s protracted conflict, which erupted after mass protests against then President Bashar al-Assad.

The group continues to operate as an independent local defense force, separate from state security institutions.

Abu Fakhr told Asharq Al-Awsat that a high-level meeting held last Thursday in Sweida—attended by senior Druze spiritual leaders Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri and Sheikh Hammoud al-Hanawi, along with local dignitaries and community members—resulted in an agreement to reactivate the police and judicial police under the Ministry of Interior.

Abu Fakhr also denied recent reports claiming that Druze clerics, tribal leaders, and faction commanders had agreed to fully surrender their weapons to the state.

“This issue has not been resolved by all parties in Sweida,” he said, reiterating the group’s position: “We have no objection to organizing the weapons under state oversight, as long as they remain within the administrative boundaries of the province, but not to surrendering them.”

The statement underscores continuing tensions over the role of armed groups in Sweida, a province that has largely remained outside the control of both government and opposition forces throughout Syria’s civil war.