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Sudan

August 30, 2026

Khartoum 11:54 am

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Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Analysis

How Ethiopia’s new dams test Egypt’s ability to defend its Nile red lines

Ethiopia’s water minister has emphasized the country’s plans to move forward with new Blue Nile dam construction, leaving Egypt to contend with the potential fallout.

Eli Siegel-Bernstein

By Eli Siegel-Bernstein

Sudanese army soldier stands in front of a tank

Sudan ramps up Saudi Arabia, Turkey contacts amid growing Red Sea cooperation

Sudanese officials held parallel talks in Riyadh and Ankara as Saudi Arabia and Turkey deepen security cooperation around the Red Sea and fighting intensifies in Sudan.

View of some wreckage after the Rapid Support Forces targeted several civilian facilities in Al-Rahad Abu Dakna, one of the largest cities in North Kordofan, on the national highway linking Kosti and el-Obeid, July 25, 2026.

Analysis

RSF turns to drones, new fronts as Sudan battlefield pressure grows

A wave of RSF drone attacks reflects the group fighting back, but it also points to limited supply lines and difficulty mounting ground offensives beyond its territorial strongholds.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Latest News

Sudan’s RSF attacks Khartoum, seizes border town: What to know

Ebrahim HAMID / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Amid realignment with Egypt, Turkey steps up support for Sudan’s Burhan

Sudan's de facto leader and armed forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan greets supporters in Port Sudan, Dec. 29, 2024.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

In London, reporting on North Africa and Gulf politics

Rebecca Bradshaw

An Egyptian Nubian band performs traditional songs as they celebrate the aligned of the winter solstice sunrise to the Temple of Karnak, in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor on December 21, 2013. The central sector of the site which takes up the largest amount of space, is dedicated to the Egyptian god Amun, who became prominent as the greatest of the gods. AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI (Photo credit should read KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Egypt MP says neglect of Nubians' role 'crime against human history'

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Yassine Abdel Sabour, the first MP for the Nubian people in the new Egyptian parliament, stresses his commitment to advancing the rights of his people in the legislature.

A Sudanese farmer works on his corn farm on the banks of the river Nile in Khartoum November 11, 2009. For centuries, farmers like Berhanu Gudina have eked out a living in Ethiopia's central lowlands, tending tiny plots of maize, wheat or barley amid the vastness of the lush green plains. Now, they find themselves working cheek by jowl with high-tech commercial farms stretching over thousands of hectares tilled by state-of-the-art tractors -- and owned and operated by foreigners. Picture taken November 11,

Will Saudi agricultural investments in Sudan leave Egypt high and dry?

Experts say Egypt can’t afford to remain stoic about Sudan’s ever-rising water needs.

A man walks over a bridge by the construction of Ethiopia's Great Renaissance Dam in Guba Woreda, some 40 km (25 miles) from Ethiopia's border with Sudan, June 28, 2013. Egypt fears the $4.7 billion dam, that the Horn of Africa nation is building on the Nile, will reduce a water supply vital for its 84 million people, who mostly live in the Nile valley and delta. Picture taken June 28, 2013. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri (ETHIOPIA - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY ENERGY ENVIRONMENT) - RTX115K9

Ethiopia, Egypt dam feud drags on

The future of the negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia on the New Renaissance Dam is hazier than ever as the political and technical deadlock persists.

A cloud of dust rises from a dynamite blast, as part of construction work, at Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam during a media tour along the river Nile in Benishangul Gumuz Region, Guba Woreda, in Ethiopia March 31, 2015. According to a government official, the dam has hit the 41 percent completion mark. Picture taken March 31, 2015. REUTER/Tiksa Negeri - RTR4VQ69

Despite dam dispute, Egypt seeks to build trust with Ethiopia

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Egyptian Water Minister Hossam Moghazi addresses the ongoing dispute with Ethiopia over the Renaissance Dam.

Will Qatar's investment in ancient pyramids bring tourists to Sudan?

With funding from Qatar, archaeologists from around the world are gathering in Sudan to excavate the country's forgotten pyramids.

Sudanese Water Minister Moataz Moussa (C) attends 7th meeting of the tripartite technical committee on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on July 22, 2015 in the capital Khartoum. AFP PHOTO / ASHRAF SHAZLY (Photo credit should read ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images)

Continued conflict clogging up Renaissance Dam negotiations

Egypt may have procrastinated itself into a corner as it passively awaits a solution to concerns about how the already-underway Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will affect its water supply.

Is UNHCR in Jordan discriminating against Sudanese refugees?

Sudanese refugees in Jordan have been protesting what they see as the UNHCR discriminating between them and Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

Sudan gets $2.2B for joining Saudi Arabia, Qatar in Yemen war

After providing financial support, Saudi Arabia is collecting on its IOU from Sudan, which now finds itself enmeshed in Yemen's civil war.

Construction workers are seen at a distance in a section of Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam, as it undergoes construction, during a media tour along the river Nile in Benishangul Gumuz Region, Guba Woreda, in Ethiopia March 31, 2015. According to a government official, the dam has hit the 41 percent completion mark. Picture taken March 31, 2015. REUTER/Tiksa Negeri - RTR4VQ5E

Egypt faces another dam challenge

Egypt has been expressing its fears that the Renaissance Dam project would be completed before a planned study is carried out, as this could jeopardize Egypt’s share of the Nile waters.

Yemen's African connection

Amid the withholding of the details of the Emirati death toll in Yemen, African soldiers are set to step up their role in Operation Restoring Hope.

Construction workers are seen in a section of Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam, as it undergoes construction, during a media tour along the river Nile in Benishangul Gumuz Region, Guba Woreda, in Ethiopia March 31, 2015. According to a government official, the dam has hit the 41 percent completion mark. Picture taken March 31, 2015. REUTER/Tiksa Negeri - RTR4VQ4C

Egyptian-Ethiopian disputes stall Renaissance Dam

Differences still abound between Egypt and Ethiopia over the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Cairo says could jeopardize its water resources.

A fisherman travels on a boat during low tide on the river Nile in Cairo, Egypt June 5, 2015. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTX1FAVD

Egyptian fishermen tangled in Egypt-Sudan fray

More than a hundred Egyptian fishermen were arrested four months ago by the Sudanese navy, released and then arrested again in what some see as a Sudanese bid to pressure Egypt to release 24 Sudanese nationals.