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Egypt Says Has No Objections to Any Ethiopian Dam

Addis Ababa has been building the "Renaissance Dam" on the Blue Nile since 2011. (Reuters)
Addis Ababa has been building the "Renaissance Dam" on the Blue Nile since 2011. (Reuters)
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Egypt Says Has No Objections to Any Ethiopian Dam

Addis Ababa has been building the "Renaissance Dam" on the Blue Nile since 2011. (Reuters)
Addis Ababa has been building the "Renaissance Dam" on the Blue Nile since 2011. (Reuters)

Egypt denied having objections to building any dam in Ethiopia, affirming that it supports the development of the Nile Basin nations and Africa, saying it only seeks a fair and binding legal agreement to fill and operate such dams.

An Egyptian-Ethiopian dispute was sparked in 2011 when Addis Ababa began constructing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile.

Egypt and 10 other downstream countries share the Nile basin, yet more than 85 percent of its share comes from the Blue Nile tributary in Ethiopia.

Around 80 percent of the construction works have been completed so far. Meanwhile, the upcoming weeks will witness the second phase of filling the dam, which is a cause of concern to Egypt and Sudan that fear the dam's impact on their water shares.

Egypt's Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said that Egypt didn’t reject the construction of any dam in Ethiopia, but it seeks to achieve cooperation through a legally binding agreement that is fair to everyone.

His remarks were made during a ceremony organized by the Ministry on Wednesday to celebrate the graduation of youths of the Nile Basin countries from the 44th training course on “Environmental Hydrology for Arid and Semi-Arid regions."

He affirmed that Egypt supports development in the Nile Basin countries and Africa. The Minister highlighted Egypt’s contribution to building dams in the Nile Basin countries as an example.

The bilateral cooperation and the development of African and Nile Basin countries are important to Egypt.

Through cooperation, several development projects were implemented and are directly benefiting citizens residing in these countries. This, in its turn, contributes to attaining sustainable development.

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Syria Authorities Say Torched 1 Million Captagon Pills

A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
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Syria Authorities Say Torched 1 Million Captagon Pills

A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)
A man throws a bag onto a pile of burning illicit drugs, as Syria's new authorities burn drugs reportedly seized from a security branch, in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (AFP)

Syria's new authorities torched a large stockpile of drugs on Wednesday, two security officials told AFP, including one million pills of captagon, whose industrial-scale production flourished under ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

Captagon is a banned amphetamine-like stimulant that became Syria's largest export during the country's more than 13-year civil war, effectively turning it into a narco state under Assad.

"We found a large quantity of captagon, around one million pills," said a balaclava-wearing member of the security forces, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Osama, and whose khaki uniform bore a "public security" patch.

An AFP journalist saw forces pour fuel over and set fire to a cache of cannabis, the painkiller tramadol, and around 50 bags of pink and yellow captagon pills in a security compound formerly belonging to Assad's forces in the capital's Kafr Sousa district.

Captagon has flooded the black market across the region in recent years.

"The security forces of the new government discovered a drug warehouse as they were inspecting the security quarter," said another member of the security forces, who identified himself as Hamza.

Authorities destroyed the stocks of alcohol, cannabis, captagon and hashish in order to "protect Syrian society" and "cut off smuggling routes used by Assad family businesses", he added.

- Manufacturing sites -

Since an opposition alliance toppled Assad on December 8 after a lightning offensive, Syria's new authorities have said massive quantities of captagon have been found in former government sites around the country, including security branches.

AFP journalists in Syria have seen fighters from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group set fire to what they said were stashes of captagon found at facilities once operated by Assad's forces.

Security force member Hamza confirmed Wednesday that "this is not the first initiative of its kind -- the security services, in a number of locations, have found other warehouses... and drug manufacturing sites and destroyed them in the appropriate manner".

Maher al-Assad, a military commander and the brother of Bashar al-Assad, is widely accused of being the power behind the lucrative captagon trade.

Experts believe Syria's former leader used the threat of drug-fueled unrest to put pressure on Arab governments.

Jordan in recent years has cracked down on the smuggling of weapons and drugs including captagon along its 375-kilometer (230-mile) border with Syria.