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Is Ethiopia to blame for Nile crocodiles appearing in Khartoum?

Officials in Sudan are advising citizens to avoid the Nile River because of crocodiles — which some are blaming on Ethiopia’s second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
A Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) comes out the of the water at the Kuku Zoo wildlife park in the Khartoum Bahri (North) twin city of the Sudanese capital, Sudan, June 25, 2020.

CAIRO — A state of anticipation prevails in Egypt, after the appearance of the Nile crocodiles in Khartoum. Meanwhile, officials in Sudan have warned citizens against getting close to the Nile River after the completion of the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), in the absence of an agreement with the downstream countries — Egypt and Sudan.

In a July 30 press statement, director of the Civil Defense Department in Khartoum, Maj. Gen. Othman al-Atta, warned citizens against getting close to the Nile or swimming in it, as the country is witnessing major floods, leading to a rise in the Nile water levels and causing the emergence of predatory Nile crocodiles and snakes. Atta also advised against using Nile boats.

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