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Ethiopia Demands Bolstering Role of Observers in GERD Talks

This handout picture taken on July 20, 2020, shows an aerial view Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River in Guba, northwest Ethiopia. (AFP)
This handout picture taken on July 20, 2020, shows an aerial view Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River in Guba, northwest Ethiopia. (AFP)
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Ethiopia Demands Bolstering Role of Observers in GERD Talks

This handout picture taken on July 20, 2020, shows an aerial view Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River in Guba, northwest Ethiopia. (AFP)
This handout picture taken on July 20, 2020, shows an aerial view Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River in Guba, northwest Ethiopia. (AFP)

Ethiopia has stressed the need to bolster the role of observers and experts in the years-long stalled negotiations on the controversial mega-dam it is building on the Blue Nile.

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

Ethiopian State Minister of Foreign Affairs Redwan Hussein said Friday that the practical way to overcome the dispute over the GERD is to continue and end the trilateral talks between Cairo, Khartoum and Addis Ababa.

According to the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA), Hussein called for bolstering the role of observers and experts to assist the current African Union chair - the Democratic Republic of Congo - to push forward the GERD talks.

He made his remarks during a meeting with ambassadors of the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) and Latin American countries in Ethiopia.

Addis Ababa finished in July 2020 the first phase of filling the reservoir, in preparation for its operation, achieving its target of 4.9 billion cubic meters. This year, it targets filling an additional 13.5 billion cubic meters.

The latest round of talks between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in Kinshasa ended in early April with no progress made.

Ethiopia is pinning its hopes of economic development and power generation on the GERD, which Egypt fears will imperil its supply from the Nile. Sudan is also concerned about the impact on its own water flows.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry stressed on Thursday Cairo’s readiness to exert the necessary effort to make the negotiations a success.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had previously announced that the second filling of the dam reservoir will go ahead as scheduled in the next rainy season in July/August.

Sudan’s Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas urged parties on Thursday to reach a legally binding agreement to exchange daily information on means of operating the dam to ensure that no party is harmed.

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Hamas Armed Wing Says Fate of Israeli-American Hostage Edan Alexander Unknown

Signs and a photograph of Edan Alexander, the American-Israeli and Israel Defense Forces soldier taken hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, stand outside a Jewish community center in Alexander’s home town of Tenafly, New Jersey, US, December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Stephani Spindel/File
Signs and a photograph of Edan Alexander, the American-Israeli and Israel Defense Forces soldier taken hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, stand outside a Jewish community center in Alexander’s home town of Tenafly, New Jersey, US, December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Stephani Spindel/File
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Hamas Armed Wing Says Fate of Israeli-American Hostage Edan Alexander Unknown

Signs and a photograph of Edan Alexander, the American-Israeli and Israel Defense Forces soldier taken hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, stand outside a Jewish community center in Alexander’s home town of Tenafly, New Jersey, US, December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Stephani Spindel/File
Signs and a photograph of Edan Alexander, the American-Israeli and Israel Defense Forces soldier taken hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, stand outside a Jewish community center in Alexander’s home town of Tenafly, New Jersey, US, December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Stephani Spindel/File

Hamas's armed wing said on Saturday the fate of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was unknown after the group found the guard who was holding the hostage killed.

On Tuesday, Hamas said it had lost contact with a group of its members holding Alexander in Gaza after the Israeli army attacked the place where the militants were holding him.

Alexander is a New Jersey native and a 21-year-old soldier in the Israeli army.

"We are trying to protect all the hostages and preserve their lives ... but their lives are in danger because of the criminal bombings by the enemy's army," the armed-wing Al-Qassam Brigades's spokesperson, Abu Ubaida, said, reiterating an accusation that Israel's army is to blame for the killing of hostages in the enclave, Reuters reported.

Israel has accused Hamas of killing hostages in its custody.

"The fate of the prisoner (hostage) and the rest of the captors remains unknown," Abu Ubaida added.

There was no immediate comment by the Israeli army on Hamas's statement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to give a statement later on Saturday.

The release of Alexander was at the center of earlier talks held between Hamas leaders and US hostage negotiator Adam Boehler last month.

President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters at the White House in March that gaining the release of Alexander, believed to be the last living American hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, was a "top priority".

Hamas so far released 38 hostages under a brief ceasefire that began on January 19.

Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza in March after ceasefire talks stalled, with both sides blaming one another for the failure to reach an agreement.

Israel says its offensive in Gaza aims to release the remaining 59 hostages, while Hamas insists it will free hostages only as part of a deal to end the war and has rejected demands to lay down its arms.