In the light of the confrontation between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Blue Nile dam, and Sudan’s potential role in the Tigray war, this could be important. Don’t forget that Eritrea’s Foreign Minister visited Khartoum as the war was breaking out.
Source: AP
Egypt, Sudan launch joint military exercises
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt and Sudan have launched joint military exercises, the Egyptian army announced Saturday, in the latest sign of deepening security ties between the Nile Valley neighbors.
The exercises run by Egyptian and Sudanese commando and air forces were the first joint combat training held since the ouster of Sudanese autocrat Omar al-Bashir last year.
The joint military initiative came less than a month after President Donald Trump announced that Washington would remove Sudan from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, paving the way for the African country to be integrated into the international community. That move combined with Sudan’s decision to start normalizing ties with Israel, a key U.S. ally in the region.
Egypt’s military said in a statement that the joint combat exercises, dubbed “Nile’s Eagles-1”, are being held in Sudan and would last until Nov. 26.
The exercises include planning and running combat activities, as well as commando groups conducting search and rescue missions, according to the statement.
The joint initiative comes as regional tensions in Nile Valley are increasing.
Deadly fighting between Ethiopian federal forces and the regional government in the Tigray area that erupted on Nov. 4 has reportedly killed hundreds on both sides in the clashes, and raised international concern about a possible civil war at the heart of the Horn of Africa.
Meanwhile, Egypt has expressed increasing alarm over Ethiopia’s mega-dam project upstream, fearing it could reduce its share of the Nile waters. The Blue Nile, the river’s main tributary, accounts for 80% of the river’s volume, and originates in Ethiopia’s highlands before merging with the White Nile at the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.
The Nile provides nearly all of Egypt’s freshwater and much of its electricity supply.
Ethiopia says its dam would have no negative impact on Egypt or Sudan, and argues it is vital for its development.
Sudan is on a fragile path to democracy after a popular uprising led the military to overthrow al-Bashir in April 2019, after nearly three decades of rule.
During al-Bashir’s era, relations between Sudan and Egypt suffered from sporadic tensions, including repeated failures to reach a deal over Ethiopia’s massive dam being built on the Blue Nile, and the revival of a longstanding dispute over a border territory, the Halayeb Triangle, held by Egypt and claimed by Sudan.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s government has intensified its efforts to rebuild ties with its southern neighbor since al-Bashir’s ouster, including supporting the new Sudanese government’s efforts to be delisted from the U.S. state-sponsors of terrorism list.
Ethiopians would not fli ch from their position due to this counter offensive exercises: between Egypt and the Sudan.No harm would be done by the construction of the GERD but the relief of millions of poor ethiopians being emancipated from poverty and economic servitude due to backwardness.Sudan being a close neighbor and sub-regional ally in all civil,economic and millitary sectors will not waver to support Ethiopia in its poverty eradication and elimination of hunger and delivery of adequate food to combat severe stunting of its children.
ወሸላ ወያኔ። እስቲ ይሞክሩ ። ሞት ለወያኔ
Uneducated!try reading more chala
We the Eritreans we will be protect Ethiopia if the rabish government sudan and Egypt attacking Ethiopia.
These military joint exercise is to save Tplf.
Ethiopia is more than enough for both of them!!!
No TPLF ANYMORE! It ends with this operation. Period! Justice shall previal for all those who have been abused and robbed by TPLF nearly for the last 2 decades.
#3 decades
Am out!!!
Egypt look like opportunist athemoment, but we will see what happens. Ethiopia is going a wrong direction and not survive this if you read Ethiopia history it never enjoyed justice, one community used to rule at the expense of the other people.
We ethiopians watching carefully both countries military exsersise believe or not they don’t have power to stop ethiopians dam by force while abye river comes out from the heart of ethiopians land
. Ethiopians they don’t have plan to stop the water but to share for the first time in history and to generate power for its own people which are 65% ethiopians with out electricity. egypt and sudan must think and cooperate with ethiopia to get their share but they can’t influenced to avoid the intrest of ethiopia. You know millions military exsersise can not nail down ethiopians we can died millions time for our river and dam which build by our mony not by usa donation.