Ethiopia Pivots to Disputed Dam After Ending Tigray Hostilities

(Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia will turn its attention to filling a massive hydropower dam on the Nile River and regaining territory lost in a dispute with Sudan as hostilities end in the northern Tigray region, the government said.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed agreed to implement a cease-fire in Tigray on Tuesday. The agreement came after fighters loyal to the dissident Tigray People’s Liberation Front recaptured the capital, Mekelle, from federal army forces after almost eight months of conflict.

The government will now prepare for a second filling of the $4.5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the west of the country, said Redwan Hussein, spokesperson for the nation’s emergency task force on Tigray.

The government will also try and regain lost territory in the disputed Al-Fashqa region that straddles the border with Sudan, “where our sovereign land has been invaded,” Redwan told reporters Wednesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital.

Egypt and Sudan, which rely on the Nile for much of their fresh water, oppose any unilateral filling that may affect the river’s flow. The two nations earlier this month garnered the Arab League’s support in calling for United Nations intervention in the dispute.

The damming is scheduled to resume when Ethiopia’s main rainy season begins around mid-July. Both Egypt and Sudan have warned of catastrophe in the region if no deal is reached before the filling, saying the U.S. and European Union should join negotiations.

While Ethiopian forces have pulled out of Tigray, TPLF forces in the region haven’t yet agreed to a cease-fire. They’ll continue fighting until demands including the withdrawal of Eritrean troops are met, TPLF executive member Getachew Reda said.

Eritrean forces joined with Ethiopia last year in shelling and invading the Tigray region, and still hold territory within the Ethiopian region. They have been accused of some of the worst in a long list of human-rights abuses in recent months.

The TPLF also wants Abiy to restore services to Tigray, including power and telecommunications, and agree to be held accountable for atrocities in the war, Getachew said.

“If he is interested in a cease-fire, let him address those issues,” he said in a phone interview. “You cannot cut off electricity and services and expect to make peace.”

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