Why are Egypt and Ethiopia clashing over Tigray, Somalia and the Nile?

Explainer

Beatrice Farhat

Oct 2, 2026

This general view shows the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, on February 19, 2022. - Ethiopia's massive hydro-electric dam project on a tributary of the Nile has raised regional tensions notably with Egypt, which depends on the huge river for 97 percent of its water supply. Government officials said the dam would begin producing electricity on Sunday, more than a decade since work first started. (Photo by Amanuel SILESHI / AFP) (Photo by AMANUEL SILESHI/AFP via Getty Ima — This general view shows the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, on February 19, 2022. - Ethiopia's massive hydro-electric dam project on a tributary of the Nile has raised regional tensions notably with Egypt, which depends on the huge river for 97 percent of its water supply. — AMANUEL SILESHI/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt expelled an official at the Ethiopian Embassy in Cairo on Thursday following a similar move by Ethiopia that same day, in the latest sign of tensions between the neighboring African countries.

What happened: Egypt’s state-linked Al-Qahera News, citing an official source, said Egyptian authorities declared a counselor at the Ethiopian Embassy persona non grata, ordering him to leave the country within 48 hours. The diplomat was not named. The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya channel said it had learned that the staffer was Agazi Melo Brogoy.

The source told Al-Qahera News that the move was based on the principle of reciprocity after the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry demanded that a senior diplomat at the Egyptian Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ahmed Moharam Ahmed Soliman, leave the country. Ethiopia did not provide a reason for his expulsion.

The source deplored the Ethiopian move as “regrettable and unjustified,” saying that Cairo has consistently refrained from interfering in or commenting on other countries’ internal affairs, including Ethiopia’s.