Talks in Sudan Over Repercussions of GERD’s Second Filling

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. AFP file photo
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. AFP file photo
TT
20

Talks in Sudan Over Repercussions of GERD’s Second Filling

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. AFP file photo
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. AFP file photo

The Sudanese ministries of foreign affairs and irrigation and water resources have held a meeting to assess the country’s position on the mega dam Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile.

Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi and Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas held a coordination meeting on Monday, with the participation of experts from both ministries, to assess the legal, political and technical aspects of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the Sudanese news agency reported.

Meanwhile, senior irrigation ministry officials also discussed the repercussions of Addis Ababa’s announcement of its second filling of the GERD in July.

The filling of the Renaissance Dam by one side next July represents a direct threat to Sudan’s national security in case the three countries concerned (Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan) do not reach a legal and binding agreement on the rules of filling and operating the dam, they stressed.

The unilateral filling of the reservoir threatened electricity generation from Sudan’s Merowe Dam and Roseires Dam, as well as the safety of the Roseires Dam and of 20 million Sudanese living downstream of the GERD.

Last week, the ministry announced that the dam is expected to hold 13.5 billion cubic meters of water in the upcoming rainy season. Ethiopia had first filled the reservoir in 2020.

It highlighted the importance of preparing early and taking all necessary technical and administrative measures to face all possibilities before the second filling.

Last year, floodwaters in Sudan reached the highest levels on record, killing dozens of people, destroying thousands of homes, and encroaching on some neighborhoods of the capital Khartoum.

The previous rounds of negotiations have faltered due to the divergence of positions between Addis Ababa, Khartoum, and Cairo.

Therefore, Sudan kicked off intense diplomatic efforts to resume the stalled negotiations on the GERD to mobilize regional and international support for its position.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has earlier warned that the planned second filling of the GERD without a legal binding agreement with Egypt and Sudan would have a “disastrous impact” on Sudan.

He stressed that his country will not accept the de facto policy, which threatens its citizens and water installations on the Blue Nile.

Sudan demands that the dam be established on the basis of international law, which preserves the rights of all parties and ensures that no party gets affected, the PM noted.



Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
TT
20

Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Palestinian authorities said Israeli troops killed a 55-year-old man in the north of the occupied West Bank on Thursday -- an incident the Israeli army said involved a stabbing attack.

The Ramallah-based health ministry said the body in charge of coordination with Israel informed it that soldiers "shot and killed" the man in Rummanah, near Jenin, in the morning.

The Israeli military said separately that troops deployed in the village "neutralised" a man after he stabbed and "moderately injured" a soldier, AFP reported.

The army generally uses the term "neutralised" after killing someone.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has soared since the Hamas attack of October 2023.

A 12-year-old Palestinian boy died Thursday of wounds suffered during an army raid near the West Bank town of Nablus last week, the health ministry said.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 951 Palestinians, including many militants, the ministry said.

Advertisement - Scroll to Continue

Over the same period, at least 35 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to Israeli figures.