Egypt, Sudan launch joint air exercise as Nile dam tensions mount

CAIRO: Egyptian armed forces have launched a joint air training exercise, Nile Eagles 2, with the Sudanese air force at Sudan’s Merowe air base.
The training includes elements from the air forces and Thunderbolt commando forces from both countries, Egypt’s military said in a statement.
The early stages of the training included joint sorties, with multi-role fighters attacking targets and protecting vital installations.
Thunderbolt forces on both sides resumed training in attack, concealment and camouflage operations.
Mohammed Othman Al-Hussein, chief of staff of the Sudanese armed forces, inspected the participating troops, listened to a summary of the training stages, and also followed the sorties and air force training.
Al-Hussein praised the “clear harmony” in the performance between the forces.
The exercise aims to achieve the maximum possible benefit in terms of planning and carrying out air operations, the Egyptian armed forces said.
The two armed forces held the Nile Eagles 1 exercise last November, which lasted for about a week.
These exercises come amid growing fears in Cairo and Khartoum concerning the effects of the Renaissance Dam on their share of Nile River water, with negotiations suspended and no solution in sight.
On Tuesday, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that Egypt will refuse to allow a single drop of its water to be taken.
“No one is untouchable for us,” he said. “Our water is a red line.”
The Egyptian leader was speaking at a press conference held after the huge container ship Ever Given was refloated in the Suez Canal.
The president said: “We choose to negotiate; hostile action is ugly and has effects that extend for many years, and nations do not forget this. But if our water supplies are affected, Egypt’s reaction  will reverberate in the region.”