Ethiopia resumes filling the Controversial Dam

Ethiopia has started the next phase of filling a controversial huge dam on the Nile River’s main tributary, raising tensions days before an upcoming meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the issue.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which is set to be Africa’s largest hydroelectric project when completed, is the source of an almost decade-long diplomatic standoff between Ethiopia and downstream nations of Egypt and Sudan.

Egypt views the dam as a grave threat to its Nile water supplies, on which it is almost entirely dependent. Sudan has also expressed concern about the safety of the dam and the impact on its own dams and water stations.

In a statement late on Monday, the Egyptian irrigation ministry expressed its “firm rejection of this unilateral measure” and said the move was “a violation of international laws and norms that regulate projects built on the shared basins of international rivers”.

Both Egypt and Sudan have been pushing Ethiopia to sign a binding deal over the filling and operation of the dam, and have been urging the UN Security Council to take the matter up in recent weeks.

The U.N. Security Council is expected to discuss the issue on Thursday.