Egypt’s armed forces are refraining from military threats over a River Nile dam dispute, with a spokesperson for the general staff declaring that it “is not a military issue at this stage,” following some heated exchanges between the two countries.
Tensions have heightened over a giant dam on the Nile, termed the
“Great Renaissance Dam” by Ethiopia. Egypt fears that the new
hydroelectric plant will deplete its vital water resources.
“It's too early to involve the army in this problem at the
moment,” Ahmed Mohamed Ali told Reuters.
Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi said earlier on Monday that he
did not want war but would keep “all options open,”
inciting a response from Ethiopia.
The following day, Ethiopia's foreign ministry spokesman, Dina
Mufti, dismissed Egypt’s “psychological warfare,” saying
that the dam’s construction wouldn’t be halted “even for
seconds.”
Last week, some Egyptian politicians were recorded discussing
potential air strikes or the possibility of offering support to
Ethiopian rebels.
Egypt’s foreign minister will travel to Ethiopia on Sunday to
discuss the subject of the dam further, despite Ethiopia’s
declaration that it would not be accepting any proposals to
temporarily halt construction.
The rights of priority to the Nile’s water supply are backed by
colonial-era treaties, according to Egypt. The river provides the
majority of the county’s 84 million residents with water.
Ethiopia states that this attitude is outdated and that it cannot
stay under-provided for.
“It would be important to just have discussions that are open,
that look at how we can have a win-win situation in a new
context, not in the context of the colonial powers, but in the
context of pan-Africanism and African renaissance,” the
African Union's Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma stated in a press
conference.