Egypt, Sudan hold 'Nile Eagles 2' joint air exercise
The Egyptian Air-force participated in drills with the Sudanese air forces in Merowe airbase in Sudan, next to the Ethiopian border.
2 min read
The drill will involve planning and managing joint combat activities [AFP]
The Egyptian and Sudanese air forces held a joint exercise on Wednesday dubbed "Nile -Eagles 2" in northern Sudan, Egypt's state-run media reported.
Egyptian army special forces personnel also joint the air force in the exercise, which was aimed at improving the skills of the forces in carrying out joint air operations, Al-Ahram daily quoted the Egyptian Armed Forces as saying.
The troops also conducted joint sorties to attack hostile targets and protect vital targets, the statement added.
The Nile Eagle Joint Air-force drills between Egypt and Sudan were launched for the first time in November last year, as a part of a recent push for military and security cooperation between the two countries.
Egyptian army special forces personnel also joint the air force in the exercise, which was aimed at improving the skills of the forces in carrying out joint air operations, Al-Ahram daily quoted the Egyptian Armed Forces as saying.
The troops also conducted joint sorties to attack hostile targets and protect vital targets, the statement added.
The Nile Eagle Joint Air-force drills between Egypt and Sudan were launched for the first time in November last year, as a part of a recent push for military and security cooperation between the two countries.
The joint military drills come at the backdrop of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's speech earlier this week, in which he threatened that Ethiopia's enormous dam project will cause "unimaginable instability".
The dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has been simmering for around a decade and mediation attempts with downstream Egypt and Sudan have repeatedly failed.
"Nobody will be permitted to take a single drop of Egypt's water, otherwise the region will fall into unimaginable instability," Sisi said.
"Any act of hostility is detestable... but our reaction in the event that we are affected" by a reduction in Egypt's own water supply "will affect the stability of the entire region," he added.
The Nile, the world's longest river, is a lifeline supplying both water and electricity to the 10 countries it traverses.
Upstream Ethiopia says the hydroelectric power produced by its dam will be vital to meet the energy needs of its 110 million people.
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