Sudan Dismisses Ethiopia’s Argument in Rejecting Int’l Mediation on GERD

Sudan reiterated its rejection of any “unilateral filling of the dam reservoir that would threaten the lives of its citizens and water installations.”. (AFP)
Sudan reiterated its rejection of any “unilateral filling of the dam reservoir that would threaten the lives of its citizens and water installations.”. (AFP)
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Sudan Dismisses Ethiopia’s Argument in Rejecting Int’l Mediation on GERD

Sudan reiterated its rejection of any “unilateral filling of the dam reservoir that would threaten the lives of its citizens and water installations.”. (AFP)
Sudan reiterated its rejection of any “unilateral filling of the dam reservoir that would threaten the lives of its citizens and water installations.”. (AFP)

Sudan found Ethiopia’s refusal to form a quartet committee to mediate the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) talks absurd, considering its argument “unconvincing.”

It reiterated its rejection of any “unilateral filling of the dam reservoir that would threaten the lives of its citizens and water installations.”

Sudanese Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Yasser Abbas urged Addis Ababa to accept its proposal to expand the mediating parties to include the European Union, the United Nations, the United States and the African Union.

He said these parties might make a breakthrough in the stalled negotiations between the three countries.

Ethiopia has refused to involve the quartet in GERD talks and considered the step an attempt by Cairo and Khartoum to delay the dam’s second filling process. It renewed its commitment to the AU-led talks.

In a speech marking World Water Day on Monday, Abbas noted that the dam talks have so far faltered due to the negotiation methodology, adding that Sudan has repeatedly demanded expanding the role of the AU to facilitate talks and reach a legally binding agreement among the concerned parties.

He warned Ethiopia that the unilateral filling of the reservoir threatens electricity generation from Sudan’s Merowe Dam and Roseires Dam and endangers the lives of 20 million Sudanese people.

The dam should not be a source of regional instability, Abbas said, but a source of cooperation and good neighborliness.

Egypt and Sudan are calling for a legally binding agreement on the GERD’s filling and operation to guarantee their water rights, while Ethiopia refuses to commit to any agreement that limits its ability to develop its resources.

Sudan has hinted it may resort to other legal options, including the UN Security Council or international arbitration, if Addis Ababa proceeds in the filling process.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has sent formal letters to the four international parties to formally request their mediation on GERD issue.

Addis Ababa plans to fill the dam reservoir with 13.5 billion cubic meters of water in the upcoming rainy season, almost three times the amount of the first filling in 2020.



Israeli Strikes Kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza, Medical Officials Say

Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
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Israeli Strikes Kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza, Medical Officials Say

Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)

Palestinian medical officials say two Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 14 people, including two children and a woman, most in an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone.

One strike late Monday hit a makeshift cafeteria used by displaced people in Muwasi, the center of the so-called humanitarian zone. At least 11 people were killed, including two children, according to officials at Nasser Hospital, where the casualties were taken. Video from the scene showed men pulling bloodied wounded from among tables and chairs set up in the sand in an enclosure made of corrugated metal sheets.

The strike came hours after the Israeli military announced an expansion of the zone, where it has told Palestinians evacuating from other parts of Gaza to take refuge. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering in sprawling tent camps in and around Muwasi, a largely desolate area of dunes and agricultural fields with few facilities or services along the Mediterranean coast of southern Gaza.

Israel faces a deadline this week for the Biden administration’s ultimatum for it to allow more aid into Gaza or risk possible restrictions on US military funding.

Another strike early Tuesday hit a house in the urban Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing three people including a woman, according to al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. The strike also wounded 11 others, it said.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on either strike.

Israel’s 19-month-old campaign in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities who don’t distinguish between civilians and fighters in their count, but say more than half the dead were women and children.

Israel says it targets Hamas fighters and blames the armed group for civilian deaths, saying it operates in residential areas and infrastructure and among displaced people.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led gunmen stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, about a third believed to be dead.