Why This Circle Could Spark Africa’s Biggest War

As an Egyptian, I am fully for the development of the world. I hope that both Egypt and Ethiopia can find a mutually beneficial resolution without hindering the development of either of the countries growth.

Very informative and engaging. It's clear that water scarcity is a major issue in the region, and the potential for conflict over access to water is a cause for concern. Our film crew shed a light on the Ennedi Plateau in northeastern Chad, which is located around 1,500 kilometers to the west of the Nile. This area was once a subtropical climate with large lakes and the Yellow Nile, which was the third main tributary to the River Nile. However, the Yellow Nile has now disappeared, leaving only a few subterranean caverns filled with water, such as the Guelta of Archei. This water source is critical for thousands of camels and several animal species in the region, including the West African crocodile. That's crucial when discussing conflicts in the Nile region, as it highlights the larger issue of water scarcity in the surrounding areas. Thank you for addressing this complex topic.

A similar situation exists in the US. Much of the agricultural water for Northern Mexico, Southern California and Eastern Arizona comes from the Colorado River. Las Vegas, Nevada with 3 million inhabitants, depends on the Colorado for its existence. There are treaties in place to control this flow but have been fiercely debated since the 1940s The main problem in both regions is manic overpopulation.

Amazing reporting! I wish more people would seek out content like this before voicing their opinions on various geopolitical conflicts and situations. A truly amazing job of laying out the facts in a clear and unbiased way. Thank you.

As a Sudanese I want to add one thing. Since the filling of dam has already begun the Sudanese government will never cooperate with Egypt to strike the dam, because billions of cubic metres of water will flow through the Nile. Sudan dams are incapable of handling the massive amount of water at once, thus all the city along the nile are threatened with drowning. However, the only option for Sudan is to negotiate an agreement with Ethiopia and Egypt. In fact since 2020 Sudan has more concerns about the dam's safety than its filling.

Thank you, for the informative analysis. As far as I know, Ethiopia uses the Blue Nile water soley to generate electricity, not for irrigation purpose. In addition it is well understood that, the dams in the Sudan and Egypt will significantly get rid of the silt being carried from the Ethiopian highlands in particular, and the other benefit can be electricity can supplied to the Sudan in particular.

Water conflicts are becoming increasingly common. Similar cases are happening between Turkey and Iraq with dams along the Tigris and Euphrates as well as in South & Southeast Asia where China's dams in Tibet are threatening major rivers like the Indus, Brahmaputra, Ganges & Mekong

23:12 It seems like Ethiopia did actually unilaterally with their fills but, they did them in the rainy season. They did not want to slow the average water flow, but kept their excess water for themselves. that seems like a good compromise. I think as long as they do not restrict from the average flow rate, it is fair.

I knew there was stuff being overshadowed by the war in Ukraine.. but I didn’t know it was this atrocious. Up until the last segment of this video, I held out hopes that the governments involved would retain the possibility of an amicable and joint resolution to this problem that really isn’t a problem yet… and then I saw that last segment and it seems like my hopes were pretty much dashed.

Very unfortunate but I find it fascinating when there's no "real" evil side in a conflict. Just two sides that want to do what would benefit them the most.

It seems like this is going to be a win for Africa in the long run. Once the dam is full then Egypt should have more than sufficient water supplies. The issue is filling the dam and what effect it will have and if these countries can cooperate and trust each other. If trust and cooperation can be achieved and a suitable outcome can be reached this will be a huge achievement.

This is my new favorite channel on YouTube. Straight forward, unbiased presentation of geopolitical issues. 👏

I respect and empathize both countries to be fair, so sad they struggle to find solution that is going to be satisfying to everyone. I honestly would even send my own money donation if it could help them develop the region and prevent the war even though I am half the world away and it won't affect me at all.

I had an University project on exactly this dam in Ethiopia and wrote a story called “war on water” and found that the chance for a war on water in this century was 75 till 90%, the largest chance was, indeed on the Nile. Nice to see this video about exactly this from a channel that I watch since a long time ago

Thank you RealLifeLore. These informative geographical based videos are some of the best (and I watch everything) I've ever had the pleasure to watch.

Thousands of years ago, the route west out of Egypt wasn't as absolutely impassible as it is today. Desertification has gotten rid of lots and lots of oases, oases that we know were used to supply a trade route from Cyrene to the Nile Delta. The Ptolemies used it to push to Cyrenaica and place it under their control, and the Optimate faction marched a force from Ptolemaic Egypt to Cyrene, then on to Utica during Caesar's Civil War.
Rome conquered Egypt almost last of their big conquests. By the time Ptolemaic Egypt was taken in 32BCE, all of Spain (except a tiny bit in the north), France, the Low Countries, Anatolia, the Levant, Greece, western North Africa, and of course Italy were under Roman control, and Armenia, Georgia, and most of the Balkans were under their hegemony. Only Britain, Dacia, Pannonia, and very briefly Mesopotamia came after, and some minor conquests here and there.

the thing is if Egypt blows up the dam, about 74 billion cubic meters of water would flood Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, and severely damage the surrounding areas.

As an Egyptian, I am really impressed how clearly and unbiased you presented the facts. I am also really glad you highlighted the Tigray disaster. Western Media is acting like it does not exist, and all we ever hear about is Russia and Ukraine. While that is a disaster as well, it is absolutely dwarfed by what happened in the Tigray version in terms of misery and loss of life.
You have my sub, good sir.

To begin with the reporting, this is the only objective video ever presented on this very sensitive issue. As an Ethiopian I want to ask a question for those watching this video. Lets talk the other way. If blue nile was originating from Egypt and it planned to build a dam, would she be open for negotiations with Ethiopia? I really appreciate your comments on this.

Petroleum shaped geopolitics of the twentieth century. Access to and control of water will define geopolitics well into the twenty first century.

FWIW: I joined Nebula because of high quality content creators like you. I encourage all who appreciate quality content like this to join.