For "unclear" reasons .. Ethiopia calls its ambassadors to 8 countries

Al-Jazeera learned from informed sources that Ethiopia summoned its ambassadors to eight countries - including Egypt - for "unclear" reasons, amid tension between Addis Ababa and Cairo over the Al-Nahda Dam file.

The sources indicated that among the countries from which the ambassadors were summoned were: Sudan, Morocco, Algeria, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

The local "Addis Standard" magazine, citing an unidentified source, said that Ethiopia had summoned its ambassador to Australia and South Sudan, stressing that the reason for the summons is not yet clear.

The source, who was quoted by the magazine, said that summoning the ambassadors from Brussels and London was an odd and totally unexpected step.

Relations between Ethiopia and Egypt are currently strained against the backdrop of the Renaissance Dam crisis, which Addis Ababa is building on a tributary of the Nile.

The Arab foreign ministers had confirmed, at the conclusion of their regular session, on Wednesday, their support for Egypt's position in its negotiations with Ethiopia over the Renaissance Dam, and "rejected any unilateral measures that Ethiopia might take" in this regard.

Egypt had alone signed the Renaissance Dam Agreement under American sponsorship, but the states of Ethiopia and Sudan declined to attend.

Last Tuesday, the Egyptian presidency announced that US President Donald Trump assured his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, during a phone call, that Washington continues to mediate in negotiations over the Renaissance Dam.

Ethiopia believes that the dam is necessary in order to provide it with electricity and the development process in the country, while Egypt fears that the project will affect its supplies of Nile water, which provides 90% of its water need for drinking and irrigation.