Intel: Ethiopia says second filling of Nile dam complete

Ethiopia’s government said Monday that it had completed the second filling of the reservoir of its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River.

“The second filling of the Renaissance dam has been completed and the water is overflowing," Ethiopia’s Water, Irrigation and Energy Minister Seleshi Bekele tweeted.

Why it matters: Egypt’s government has vociferously objected to Addis Ababa’s $4 billion mega-project without there being an international agreement for its operation, fearing the dam could drastically reduce Egypt's downstream share of the Nile’s water. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government has bolstered military and intelligence ties with other governments in East Africa and hinted at a possible military operation against Ethiopia.

A decade of negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia has failed to produce a resolution to the crisis. Egypt and Sudan are demanding Ethiopia agree to written procedures for the dam’s operation, but the government in Addis Ababa has so far refused.