"- Ethiopia’s diversion of part of the Blue Nile late last month has both rocked Cairo’s relations with Addis Ababa and provided fodder for Egypt’s ongoing war of attrition between its Islamist government and secular opposition.
“In Egypt’s current state of polarisation, the crisis is being exploited by both sides,” Ayman Shabaana of the Cairo-based Institute for Africa Studies told IPS. “Both government and opposition are using the critical issue of Nile security to bolster their popularity by beating war drums and making jingoistic statements.
“Meanwhile, no concrete steps are being taken to resolve the issue.”
Ethiopia began diverting the course of the Blue Nile, the primary source of Egypt’s Nile water, on May 28 in another step towards construction of its massive 4.2-billion dollar hydroelectric Grand Renaissance Dam project. When complete, the dam will be capable of producing 6,000 megawatts of electricity, making it Africa’s largest hydroelectric power plant......
“Ethiopia’s move was unprecedented. Never before has an upstream state unilaterally built a dam without downstream approval,” said Shabaana. “If other upstream countries follow suit, Egypt will have a serious water emergency on its hands.”
He added: “And Egypt’s reaction to the crisis so far has been marked by confusion, hysteria and infighting – all of which hardly inspire confidence.”"
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