Amid conflicting reports over the filling of the reservoir of Ethiopia’s mega dam on the Nile River, tensions continue to escalate between Cairo and Addis Ababa.

Minister of Irrigation Seleshi Bekele announced July 15 that Ethiopia had started filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) without reaching an agreement with Egypt and Sudan on the controversial project addressing concerns of its impact on the two countries' water supply.

In statements reported by Ethiopian state television, Bekele said that the initial storage process, estimated to fill reach 4.9 billion cubic meters, had begun. The reported start of the filling of the GERD came after the July 13 conclusion of 10 days of tripartite negotiations on the dam under the auspices of the African Union and in the presence of international observers. 

However, hours later Bekele’s office denied the news, with state television apologizing for “misinterpreting” the minister’s statements. The conflicting reports came after images circulated online showing rising water levels in the reservoir. The Ethiopian side later attributed the increase to recent rains.