Photo credit: Addis standard
Ethiopia delivered a scathing diplomatic rebuke to Egypt on Wednesday, accusing it of destabilizing the Horn of Africa to maintain a “colonial” monopoly over the Nile River.
AA reports that the statement marked the latest escalation in a bitter war of words that has intensified since Ethiopia officially inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in September.
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs alleged that Egyptian officials are employing an “obsolete playbook” aimed at creating “pliant, weak and fragmented client states” to do Cairo’s bidding.
The latest rebuttal follows a series of fierce condemnations from Cairo since the dam’s completion, including a formal protest to the UN and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty’s accusation at the UN General Assembly in September characterizing Ethiopia’s actions as a primary threat to African peace and regional stability.
Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation further accused Addis Ababa of “reckless” management, blaming uncoordinated water releases for severe flooding in neighbouring Sudan.
Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said, “Ethiopia has no obligation to seek permission from anyone to use natural resources found within its borders.”
