AU-Mediated GERD Talks to Kick Off in Kinshasa

 A general view of the Blue Nile river as it passes through the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia, on Dec. 26, 2019. EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
A general view of the Blue Nile river as it passes through the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia, on Dec. 26, 2019. EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
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AU-Mediated GERD Talks to Kick Off in Kinshasa

 A general view of the Blue Nile river as it passes through the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia, on Dec. 26, 2019. EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
A general view of the Blue Nile river as it passes through the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia, on Dec. 26, 2019. EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Foreign ministers from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan will meet in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Saturday to discuss the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which broke ground in 2011.

The three-day meeting in Kinshasa will be hosted by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who is also the chairman of the African Union. Rounds of negotiations among Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia have reached a deadlock several times.

The meeting comes days after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi warned that his country's share of the Nile River is "untouchable."

In his remarks, Sisi warned that “no one can prejudice Egypt’s right to River Nile waters.” He also warned that any prejudice to this is a “red line”, and will have an impact on the stability of the entire region.

The Sudanese government has also previously warned Ethiopia against unilaterally filling the dam, claiming such a move would threaten Sudan's national security.

In this regard, Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariam Sadiq al-Mahdi and Water Resources Minister Yasser Abbas will head Saturday to the Congolese capital to participate in the meetings, Sudan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The Sudanese delegation participates in this round to identify methodology and paths of the talks and reach agreement on them to ensure constructive negotiations that overcome the stalemate that characterized the talks during the past months," it noted.

According to the statement, the talks would discuss Sudan's proposal of a mediation quartet of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and the African Union to help the three parties reach a binding legal agreement on filling and operating of the dam.

Addis Ababa finished in July 2020 the first phase of filling the reservoir, in preparation for its operation, and announced going ahead with the second filling in July.

Ethiopia began constructing the 1.8-kilometer-long GERD in 2011 to generate power.

However, Cairo and Khartoum fear the potential negative impact of the dam on the flow of their annual share of the Nile’s 55.5 billion cubic meters of water. Both countries continue to stress the need to reach a binding and comprehensive agreement that guarantees the rights and interests of the three countries.



UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

The UN aid chief said Wednesday that recent "horrifying scenes" of Gazans being killed while seeking food aid were the result of "deliberate choices that have systematically deprived" them of essentials to survive.

A US and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in the Gaza Strip announced the temporary closure of its facilities on Wednesday, with the Israeli army warning that roads leading to distribution centers were "considered combat zones".

The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation follows a string of deadly incidents near the distribution sites it operates.

On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation.

"The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

"Emergency medical teams have confirmed treating hundreds of trauma cases. Yesterday alone, dozens were declared dead at hospitals after Israeli forces said they had opened fire.

"This is the outcome of a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived two million people of the essentials they need to survive."

He echoed the call by UN chief Antonio Guterres for immediate independent investigations, saying they were not isolated incidents, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.

"No-one should have to risk their life to feed their children," said Fletcher.

The GHF began operations a week ago, but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Meanwhile the United Nations has described the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, after Israel partially lifted a more than two-month total blockade, as a trickle.

"We must be allowed to do our jobs: we have the teams, the plan, the supplies and the experience," said Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"Open the crossings -- all of them. Let in life-saving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in.

"Ensure our convoys aren't held up by delays and denials. Release the hostages. Implement the ceasefire."