Sudan Accuses Ethiopia of Stalling Dam Talks

A construction worker at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. (AFP)
A construction worker at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. (AFP)
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Sudan Accuses Ethiopia of Stalling Dam Talks

A construction worker at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. (AFP)
A construction worker at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. (AFP)

Sudan has determined all scenarios in dealing with the current Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis, noting that it has considered all possible options to protect its security in accordance with international laws.

Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan concluded their meetings in Congo, the current president of the African Union (AU), to re-launch stalled negotiations with no progress due to persisting differences.

In a statement, the Sudanese delegation said that Ethiopia had persistently rejected all alternative options and compromises presented by Sudan to grant a role to international partners including the UN, the AU, the EU, and the US in facilitating negotiation and mediation.

Sudan’s Minister of Irrigation, Yasser Abbas, said that the meeting failed to reach an agreement after Ethiopia rejected all the proposals submitted by Sudan and Egypt.

Abbas revealed in a press conference in Khartoum, a proposal made by the Egyptian delegation to forgo mediators and observers provided that a legal and binding agreement is reached within eight weeks.

He accused Ethiopia of stalling the talks to buy time to complete the second filling of the dam without reaching an agreement.

During the Kinshasa meetings, Ethiopia proposed including South Africa as a mediator, and it was approved as one of the observers' countries, but Addis Ababa rejected the UN as a new party.

He indicated that Khartoum plans to escalate the situation politically in coordination with the Foreign Ministry, the government, and local authorities.

Sudan will seize one billion cubic meters in the Roseires dam as a precaution in case of water shortages, explained the Minister, adding that for the first time Sudan will preserve a third of the storage capacity of Jabal Awliya dam as a precaution in case of major shortage in water levels in July.

He insisted on enhancing the role of the African Union, asserting that unless other parties participate in the mediation, the negotiations will not yield any result.

Addis Ababa announced in 2020 that it had completed the first phase of filling the dam, achieving its target of 4.9 billion cubic meters, which allowed the testing of the first two turbines of the dam. This year, it targets filling an additional 13.5 billion cubic meters.

The dam, built in northwestern Ethiopia near the border with Sudan has been a source of tension since construction began in 2011.

Egypt and Sudan want to reach a tripartite agreement on operating the dam before the filling begins. But Ethiopia says that this process is an integral part of the construction and cannot be postponed.

On Tuesday, Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation, and Energy Seleshi Bekele said that country has begun the process of the second filling of the dam without any planned delay.

During a press conference, Bekele expressed regret that Egypt and Sudan want the negotiations with the participation of observers other than the AU, which is based in Addis Ababa.



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)
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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.

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