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Ethiopia Storing 7 Billion Cubic Meters of Nile Waters

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and its reservoir. (EPA)
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and its reservoir. (EPA)
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Ethiopia Storing 7 Billion Cubic Meters of Nile Waters

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and its reservoir. (EPA)
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and its reservoir. (EPA)

Ethiopia has stored around 7 billion cubic meters of water since starting the third round of water collection from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Addis Ababa began building the GERD on the Blue Nile River in 2011, raising tension with the downstream states, Egypt and Sudan.

Abbas Sharaki, Egyptian water resources expert and professor of geology, revealed Monday that since starting the third filling operation this year, Ethiopia managed to store up to 7 billion cubic meters of water at 597 meters above sea level.

It has so far amassed 15 billion cubic meters in the Renaissance Dam lake.

Ethiopia is carrying out the filling for the third straight year. Water is usually collected during the flood season that runs from June until September.

On July 26, Egypt said it received a letter from Ethiopia saying Addis Ababa would continue filling the GERD reservoir during the current flood season - a move opposed by Cairo that it believes is a breach of the obligations imposed by international law.

Sharaki revealed that during this week, half a billion cubic meters of water are being stored every day, while about 70 million cubic meters continue to flow from the two drainage holes towards Sudan and Egypt with an increase of 70 cm in the lake’s level.

Egypt will not be affected by Ethiopia’s filling due to its Aswan High Dam and its water reserves, he assured.

However, he added: “This does not give Ethiopia the right to impose a fait accompli on the two downstream countries. On the contrary, this filling increases Egypt’s commitment to its water rights.”

The Egyptian government is currently working to inaugurate a number of projects to address the country’s water crisis.

Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Aty said on Monday work is underway to rehabilitate water canals in Upper Egypt with an aim to raise the efficiency of the infrastructure of water facilities.

Meanwhile, Eng. Mohamed Ghanem, the spokesman for the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, said that Egypt produces only 60 billion cubic meters of water, while its needs 114 billion cubic meters per year.

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Arab World

From Muscat, Grundberg Pressures Houthis to Release UN Staff

UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg visits Houthi-held Sanaa (AFP) 
UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg visits Houthi-held Sanaa (AFP) 
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From Muscat, Grundberg Pressures Houthis to Release UN Staff

UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg visits Houthi-held Sanaa (AFP) 
UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg visits Houthi-held Sanaa (AFP) 

UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg visited Muscat on Sunday to address the detention by Houthis of UN personnel operating in Yemen, a behavior that sparked wide-scale international condemnation and described by Washington as a “terrorist act.”

Last Friday, the United Nations said the Iran-backed Houthis had detained seven UN personnel. Earlier, it said the arrests had taken place in the area of capital Sanaa.

The latest round of arbitrary arrests pushed the UN to suspend all official movement of its staff into or within Houthi-held areas to protect their safety.

For its part, the legitimate government renewed request to the United Nations to relocate its main offices from Sanaa to Yemen's temporary capital, Aden.

On Sunday, a statement from Grundberg’s office said the envoy met in Muscat with “senior Omani officials” and Mohammed Abdul Salam, spokesman for the Iran-backed Houthis.

“They addressed the recent arbitrary detention of additional United Nations personnel adding to the numerous others already held by Houthis,” the statement said, referring to the Houthis.

Grundberg then “reiterated the firm stance” of UN secretary general Antonio Guterres “strongly condemning these detentions and calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all detained UN staff.”

The statement also called for the freeing of “personnel from international and national non-governmental organizations, civil society and diplomatic missions held since June 2024, as well as those held since 2021 and 2023.”

Western Condemnation

The US State Department condemned the capture of additional UN staff by Houthi militants in Yemen.

In a statement, the department said, “These actions come amid the Houthis’ ongoing campaign of terror that includes taking hundreds of UN, NGO, and diplomatic staff members, including dozens of current and former Yemeni staff of the US government.

It called for the release of all detainees, including seven UN workers captured on Thursday, and decried the “campaign of terror” by the militant group.

“This latest Houthi roundup demonstrates the bad faith of the terrorist group’s claims to seek de-escalation and also makes a mockery of their claims to represent the interests of the Yemeni people,” the State Department said.

It added that the Houthis have failed to commit to ceasing attacks on regional states, US service members and all maritime traffic in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.

It recalled that the President Donald Trump’s Executive Order on designation of the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) recognizes these realities and will hold the group accountable for its reckless attacks and actions.

Also, the EU expressed its support for the statement issued by the UN Secretary-General and strongly condemned the latest round of arbitrary arrests carried out by the Houthis against UN staff working in Yemen.

The EU said it joins the calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all UN staff, NGO workers, and diplomatic missions personnel detained by the Houthis.

It also noted that these arrests jeopardize the delivery of much-needed humanitarian and development assistance to the Yemeni people.

In separate statements, the French and Germany foreign ministries also condemned the new wave of arbitrary arrests carried out by the Houthi group and called for the immediate and unconditional release of detainees.

Calls To Relocate UN Offices in Yemen

In response to the latest round of Houthi arrests, the Yemeni Foreign Ministry said the situation in Yemen is utterly calamitous, with the Houthi militias’ abduction of 13 employees of UN agencies, international and local non-governmental organizations in Sanaa.

It then described the Houthi behavior as “an egregious example of their blatant disdain for human rights and international law” that poses a significant threat to the lives and security of these employees.

The Ministry then called on the United Nations to relocate all its offices to the southern city of Aden.