AU Says Ready to Help Resolve GERD Crisis

A general view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia, on December 26, 2019. (Getty Images)
A general view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia, on December 26, 2019. (Getty Images)
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AU Says Ready to Help Resolve GERD Crisis

A general view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia, on December 26, 2019. (Getty Images)
A general view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia, on December 26, 2019. (Getty Images)

The African Union (AU) said it is ready to provide the necessary help to facilitate reaching a final agreement among the three disputed parties on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Chairperson of the AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat made these remarks following his meeting with Sudanese Foreign Minister Mariam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi in Khartoum on Saturday.

Faki arrived in Khartoum on an official two-day visit, heading a high ranking delegation, comprising AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, AU’s envoy to Sudan Mohamed al-Hassan Ould Labata and Head of the AU Liaison Office in Khartoum Mohamed Belaiche.

Mahdi stressed her country’s insistence on reaching a legally binding agreement on the rules of filling and operating the mega dam Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile, read a foreign ministry statement.

She highlighted the importance of this issue and its effect on Khartoum’s vital interests.

Egypt and Sudan have been racing against time to reach an agreement before Ethiopia’s scheduled unilateral second filling of the dam reservoir in July.

Mahdi also presented a detailed explanation on the course of the transitional process in her country.

She expressed gratitude for the AU’s continuous support for the transitional period to ensure a smooth transition to sustainable democratic rule.

Faki hailed the transitional government’s efforts to address challenges, topped by the economic crises, according to the foreign ministry spokesman.

He also pointed to his participation at the Paris Conference on Sudan, noting that it “succeeded in mobilizing support for the transitional phase”.

Faki is scheduled to hold meetings and talks with several political figures and heads of the official diplomatic missions in the capital, including Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) Volker Perthes.

The AU has been sponsoring the stalled GERD negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia since July last year.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed at least 29 Palestinians, including six children near a water distribution point.

The attacks came with apparent deadlock in a week of indirect talks in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in the territory.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Gaza City was hit by several strikes overnight and in the early morning, killing eight, "including women and children" and wounding others.

An Israeli airstrike hit a family home near the Nuseirat refugee camp, south of Gaza City, resulting in "10 martyrs and several injured", Bassal said.

In central Gaza, six children were among eight people killed when a drone "hit a potable water distribution point in an area for displaced people" in the Nuseirat camp, he added.

Several other people were wounded, he said.

In the territory's south, three people were killed when Israeli jets hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the coastal Al-Mawasi area, according to the civil defense spokesman.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has recently intensified its operations across Gaza, more than 21 months into the war triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack.

On Saturday, the military said fighter jets had hit more than 35 "Hamas terror targets" around Beit Hanun in northern Gaza.

The vast majority of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions in the territory.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.