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Egypt Ready for All Possible Scenarios in GERD Dispute

An aerial view of the Nile River, agricultural lands and homes from an airplane window on a flight between Cairo and Luxor on Saturday, April 10, 2021 (EPA)
An aerial view of the Nile River, agricultural lands and homes from an airplane window on a flight between Cairo and Luxor on Saturday, April 10, 2021 (EPA)
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Egypt Ready for All Possible Scenarios in GERD Dispute

An aerial view of the Nile River, agricultural lands and homes from an airplane window on a flight between Cairo and Luxor on Saturday, April 10, 2021 (EPA)
An aerial view of the Nile River, agricultural lands and homes from an airplane window on a flight between Cairo and Luxor on Saturday, April 10, 2021 (EPA)

The Egyptian Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty said his country was ready to deal with all possible issues arising from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Abdel Aty's televised statements came after Addis Ababa announced its plans to move forward with filling the dam reservoir when the rainy season begins even if no binding legal agreement was reached in this regard.

However, the minister said that his country is not concerned, even if Ethiopia implements the second phase of filling the dam, saying the state would not wait for any damage to occur and that Egypt had prepared for all possible scenarios five years ago.

Egypt and Sudan on Saturday rejected an Ethiopian proposal to share data on the operations of its giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile after negotiations between the three countries in Kinshasa this week ended without progress.

“Ethiopia invites Sudan and Egypt to nominate dam operators for data exchange before the filling of GERD in upcoming rainy seasons,” the Ethiopian foreign ministry wrote in a tweet on Saturday.

However, Cairo and Khartoum maintained that they are seeking a legally binding agreement over the operations of the dam, which Addis Ababa says is crucial to its economic development.

Cairo rejects “any unilateral measures taken by Ethiopia and will not accept reaching understandings that provide political and technical cover for the Ethiopian efforts to impose a fait accompli on the two downstream countries,” the Irrigation Ministry said.

Cairo fears the potential negative impact of GERD on the flow of its annual share of the Nile’s 55.5 billion cubic meters of water especially that it relies on it for more than 90 percent of its water supplies.

Abdel Aty said that while reserves at the Aswan High Dam could help stave off the effects of a second fill, his chief concern was drought management.

The Egyptian state will not allow any water crisis to occur, he stressed, noting that it is better for Addis Ababa to allow resolving this decade-long crisis through negotiations.

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Arab World

Iraq’s Kurdistan Region Officially Unifies Peshmerga Forces

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani speaks during a ceremony marking the unification of the Peshmerga forces. (Kurdistan Region Presidency)
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani speaks during a ceremony marking the unification of the Peshmerga forces. (Kurdistan Region Presidency)
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Iraq’s Kurdistan Region Officially Unifies Peshmerga Forces

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani speaks during a ceremony marking the unification of the Peshmerga forces. (Kurdistan Region Presidency)
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani speaks during a ceremony marking the unification of the Peshmerga forces. (Kurdistan Region Presidency)

Iraq’s Kurdistan Region formally announced Monday the unification of its Peshmerga forces, ending a division into two forces that had lasted more than three decades, in a step aimed at unifying Kurdish ranks that have long been divided politically and on security matters.

The ceremony at the Kurdistan Region Presidency in Erbil was overseen by President Nechirvan Barzani, commander-in-chief of the Peshmerga, and attended by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, the deputy prime minister and minister of Peshmerga affairs, Kurdish officials, representatives of the international coalition and diplomatic missions.

Abdul-Amir al-Shammari, director of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, also attended.

The Peshmerga split in the mid-1990s during the Kurdish civil war between the Kurdistan Democratic Party, led by Masoud Barzani, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, then led by the late Jalal Talabani.

The forces were divided between the KDP-affiliated Unit 80, based in the party’s areas of influence in Erbil and Duhok provinces, and the PUK-affiliated Unit 70, concentrated in Sulaymaniyah province and the Halabja area.

Kurdish sources said the ceremony culminated a lengthy reform process aimed at unifying and reorganizing the Peshmerga under an institutional military structure overseen by the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs.

Under a new decree, no Peshmerga force will remain outside the ministry as of Sept. 21, according to the regional presidency.

The integration process began years ago with support and pressure from the international coalition, particularly the United States, Britain and Germany, as well as other European countries. Integration was among the conditions for continued military and logistical assistance.

Although the Peshmerga are not explicitly named in Iraq’s constitution, Article 121 allows regional authorities to establish and organize internal security forces, including police, security forces and regional guards. Kurdish authorities consider the Peshmerga part of the regional guard.

Nechirvan Barzani said no force remained outside the Peshmerga umbrella and that the force must rise above partisan interests.

“The Peshmerga are the force of the people of Kurdistan,” he stated, adding that their mission was to protect all the region’s communities, including Kurds, Turkmen, Christians, Yazidis and Arabs.

He described the Peshmerga as part of Iraq’s defense system, saying stronger capabilities and greater coordination with federal forces would strengthen Iraq as a whole.

Barzani noted that unification must extend to training, duties, rights, promotions and military doctrine, stressing that the military should not become an arena for settling political or partisan scores.

He thanked the United States, the international coalition and countries that supported Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in the war against ISIS, including Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and France, and praised their role in Peshmerga reform, training and restructuring.

Washington, with Baghdad’s approval, delivered 24 M119 105mm howitzers to the Peshmerga in early August to bolster their capabilities against ISIS remnants, a move that drew objections from some Sunni and Shiite factions and figures in Baghdad.

Despite the unification, serious doubts remain over Kurdish political unity after nearly two years of failure to complete the regional government lineup following parliamentary elections.

PUK official Soran Dawoodi told Asharq Al-Awsat that Peshmerga unification could pave the way for political rapprochement between the KDP and PUK, adding that it would strengthen Kurdish public confidence in the force and advance the institutional framework sought by Kurdish citizens.

Arab World

Lebanon's Prisoners Continue Hunger Strike Over Suspension of Amnesty Law

A sign held by a protester at Roumieh Prison calls for the implementation of the General Amnesty Law (Al-Markazia)
A sign held by a protester at Roumieh Prison calls for the implementation of the General Amnesty Law (Al-Markazia)
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Lebanon's Prisoners Continue Hunger Strike Over Suspension of Amnesty Law

A sign held by a protester at Roumieh Prison calls for the implementation of the General Amnesty Law (Al-Markazia)
A sign held by a protester at Roumieh Prison calls for the implementation of the General Amnesty Law (Al-Markazia)

Inmates at Lebanon’s Roumieh Central Prison are on a hunger strike for a 10th day over an appeal to a general amnesty law, as warnings mounted that deteriorating conditions could trigger a broader humanitarian and social crisis.

Prisoners in Block B of Roumieh, Lebanon’s largest prison, have refused food, water and medication while awaiting a Constitutional Council ruling on the challenge to the law, which hundreds of inmates hope will secure their release.

The strike has coincided with protests outside prisons, including a demonstration Sunday that drew hundreds to Al-Nour Square in the northern city of Tripoli at the call of a committee representing prisoners’ families.

“The prisoners remain committed to the strike, but the situation is still under control and has not yet reached a highly dangerous stage,” a security source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The main concern was for inmates with chronic illnesses, particularly those refusing medication, the source added. The prison doctor was examining strikers daily, prioritizing those with health conditions, while arrangements were in place to transfer any inmate whose condition deteriorated to hospital.

The source nevertheless warned that tensions could worsen if the Constitutional Council upheld the appeal and struck down the amnesty law, potentially prompting prisoners to escalate their protest.

Omar al-Atrash, spokesman for Lebanon’s prisoners, said the health of inmates had started to deteriorate “one after another,” adding that two prisoners were hospitalized Sunday.

Al-Atrash warned that the action could expand in the coming days into a general strike across Lebanon’s prisons.

He held Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil and his political camp “morally and humanely responsible” because of its challenge to the amnesty law that was passed by parliament on Aug. 12.

Al-Atrash urged state institutions to implement the law, warning that further delays could lead to “a humanitarian catastrophe and an explosion inside the prisons” that could rapidly develop into a national and social crisis.

One Roumieh inmate told Asharq Al-Awsat that the strikers’ health was rapidly deteriorating and that prisoners with chronic illnesses were at particular risk.

The inmates “will not back down until the amnesty law is upheld and published in the Official Gazette,” he said.

A judicial source said prosecutors were monitoring the strikers’ health in coordination with Roumieh prison authorities.

Courts had already begun preparing cases to implement the amnesty should the Constitutional Council allow the law to stand, the source said, in an effort to avoid delays in releasing eligible prisoners.

Arab World

Trump Praises Aoun’s Leadership During Critical Period

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun holds a meeting with former head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt and his son, MP Taymour Jumblatt, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda on Monday (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun holds a meeting with former head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt and his son, MP Taymour Jumblatt, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda on Monday (Lebanese Presidency)
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Trump Praises Aoun’s Leadership During Critical Period

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun holds a meeting with former head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt and his son, MP Taymour Jumblatt, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda on Monday (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun holds a meeting with former head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt and his son, MP Taymour Jumblatt, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda on Monday (Lebanese Presidency)

US President Donald Trump on Monday praised President Joseph Aoun’s leadership of Lebanon during this critical period, and acclaimed the shared commitment of both sides to peace, security, and prosperity around the world.

Lebanon is engaged in US-mediated direct negotiations with Israel, aimed at ending the war, securing an Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory, facilitating the return of detainees, and enabling displaced residents to return to their homes.

The talks also seek to ensure that weapons across Lebanon are placed exclusively under the authority of the country’s official security and military forces.

Trump’s praise came in a letter sent to Aoun, in which he expressed his “honor” to welcome the President to the White House on July 21 for a “truly historic visit,” according to the Lebanese presidency said.

“It was an honor to welcome you to the White House for a visit that was historic in every sense of the word—the first visit by a Lebanese head of state in nearly two decades—at a time when the Middle East is experiencing conflict. I have admired your decisive leadership on behalf of Lebanon and its people,” the letter said.

Trump also thanked Aoun for awarding him the National Order of the Cedar, Grand Cordon, saying: “This initiative is an exceptional honor and embodies the proud Lebanese spirit. I will cherish this gesture as a symbol of our shared commitment to peace, security, and prosperity around the world.”

Unlike Hezbollah, the Lebanese state’s approach of negotiating with Israel enjoys the support of most major political forces.

Following a meeting with Aoun on Monday at the Presidential Palace, former head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt said he supports the negotiations and the ceasefire agreement if they lead to a gradual or complete Israeli withdrawal.

“If the framework agreement leads to a withdrawal and the demarcation of the border, then where is the problem? This is my personal point of view, no more and no less,” he noted.

Hezbollah has stepped up its criticism of Aoun over his decision to pursue direct negotiations with Israel under US mediation, putting the Lebanese president at odd with the Shiite movement.

Following a meeting with the President on Monday, MP Alain Aoun said the success of the president’s efforts to end the war and restore Lebanese sovereignty requires cooperation from all Lebanese parties and engagement with the process of placing weapons exclusively under state authority.

The deputy called on Hezbollah to engage in dialogue with the president at Baabda Palace to agree on a roadmap aimed at advancing negotiations, securing an Israeli withdrawal and enabling the Lebanese Army to deploy across the country.