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.



UKMTO: Ship Attacked in Red Sea off Yemen with Gunfire, Rocket-propelled Grenades

File Photo - 27 January 2024, Yemen, Gulf of Aden: The Marlin Luanda vessel on fire in the Gulf of Aden after it was reportedly struck by an anti-ship missile fired from a Houthi controlled area of Yemen. Photo: Indian Navy via ZUMA Wire/dpa
File Photo - 27 January 2024, Yemen, Gulf of Aden: The Marlin Luanda vessel on fire in the Gulf of Aden after it was reportedly struck by an anti-ship missile fired from a Houthi controlled area of Yemen. Photo: Indian Navy via ZUMA Wire/dpa
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UKMTO: Ship Attacked in Red Sea off Yemen with Gunfire, Rocket-propelled Grenades

File Photo - 27 January 2024, Yemen, Gulf of Aden: The Marlin Luanda vessel on fire in the Gulf of Aden after it was reportedly struck by an anti-ship missile fired from a Houthi controlled area of Yemen. Photo: Indian Navy via ZUMA Wire/dpa
File Photo - 27 January 2024, Yemen, Gulf of Aden: The Marlin Luanda vessel on fire in the Gulf of Aden after it was reportedly struck by an anti-ship missile fired from a Houthi controlled area of Yemen. Photo: Indian Navy via ZUMA Wire/dpa

A ship came under attack Sunday in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen by armed men firing guns and launching rocket-propelled grenades, a group overseen by the British military said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes as tensions remain high in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war and after the Iran-Israel war and airstrikes by the United States targeting Iranian nuclear sites.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center (UKMTO) said that an armed security team on the ship had returned fire and that the “situation is ongoing.”

“Authorities are investigating,” it said, The AP news reported.

Yemen's Houthi have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group’s leadership has described as an effort to end Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually.

The Houthis paused attacks in a self-imposed ceasefire until the US launched a broad assault against them in mid-March. That ended weeks later and the Houthis haven't attacked a vessel, though they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel.