CAIRO - 

With the countdown to the second filling of the Renaissance Dam approaching, and after the statements of the Director of the Engineering Department in the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense, General Buta Bachata Debele, in which he said that Egypt and Sudan will not be able to destroy the dam by resorting to the military option, the feelings of Egyptians on social media varied between frustration And hope.

Debeli had said in an interview with "Russia Today" channel - after his participation in the Ninth Moscow Conference on International Security - that "Egypt and Sudan will not be able to solve the problem of the Renaissance Dam militarily by attacking it; they will not try to attack the dam, but even if they try to attack it, they will not be able to destroy it." With fighter jets bombs, they know the dam is solid."

The Ethiopian general explained that his country is ready for the military scenario, stressing that at the end of the second filling - which has already begun - the military option will end, and everyone will come to discuss proposals for dividing the water, and then Egypt and Sudan will protect the dam because its destruction will cause a flood that will throw Egypt and Sudan into the Mediterranean.

Statements by an Ethiopian general about the option of a military solution to the Renaissance Dam, which #Egypt describes as "provocative" and confirms its lack of complacency in defending the interests of its people pic.twitter.com/ZpaXxtlwTo

- Al Jazeera Egypt (@AJA_Egypt) June 26, 2021

Between despair and hope

The Egyptians' reactions to the Ethiopian general's statements were contradictory.

It varied between frustration with the statements, and the hope that these statements - which "mock" the Egyptian and Sudanese military capabilities - would cause a military move to protect the rights of the two countries before the completion of the second filling.

Activists called on the Egyptian leadership to act as soon as possible to protect Egypt from the Ethiopia project, which controls the capabilities of Egypt and Sudan through the dam, denouncing the silence on such statements, and only a weak diplomatic response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On the other hand, supporters of the Egyptian regime stressed that the Ethiopian statements are worthless, and that the Ethiopian army is too weak to confront the Egyptian army, and a number of them stressed that the earthquake Egyptian response will inevitably come, but at the appropriate time, they said.

Ethiopian General: We are ready for a military solution to the Renaissance Dam... Egypt cannot destroy it!


No general responds to the general? .. If I were a general, I would have responded to the absence of the generals..


General, Mohsenin responds https://t.co/2YpSowMSY8

— Selim Azzouz (@selimazouz1) June 26, 2021

Egypt's army will not accept Pta'ish Egyptians!


96 hours left!


The


eagles of the air...


Lions of the land...


Sea monsters... # Egyptian_Army pic.twitter.com/udE2fiyRNb

— Haytham Abokhalil Haitham Abu Khalil (@haythamabokhal1) June 26, 2021

Bind: to


stop the

dam renaissance now ,


and also must be punished Ethiopia in


order to

give a

clear and frank and tough model for Egypt 's

position to

any other country considering building dams on the

Nile and


at the

same time:


create them wind energy and sun (thermal and optical)


and send them electricity at cost

— Mamdouh Hamza (@Mamdouh_Hamza) June 26, 2021

A few days after the worst real disaster that literally threatens Egypt's existence #Al-Nahda_dam


💔💔💔 I

hope

we think the water will be cut off for supporters and opponents 🙄🙄#Egyptian_people

— Nehal💕🇵🇸 (@Nehal78163704) June 27, 2021

The Ethiopian Ministry of Defense says that


Egypt and Sudan cannot hit the Renaissance Dam, because the flood will sweep them into the sea, and Egypt and Sudan will no longer be on the map.

Where are the


throats left,


where are you with the voice of Gaddafi

— abo Hamza (@aboHamz09928494) June 27, 2021

The Egyptian army has the military capabilities that enable it to take a deterrent action against the Renaissance Dam in the event that there is a political will that seeks to preserve Egypt’s existence. Just messing with the existence of Egypt.

— mahmoud gamal (@mahmoud14gamal) June 27, 2021

The choices are crystal clear:


either thirst


, drown,


or fight,


and now, not tomorrow

— aziz (@azmosaa) June 27, 2021

#Egypt brings the issue of the Renaissance Dam to the UN Security Council, which is the last stage after which Abi Ahmed can only blame himself.

— Muhammad Al-Daysti 🇪🇬 (@yehia5yehia) June 25, 2021

Urgent:


Major General Abbas Kamel, head of the Egyptian General Intelligence, confirmed that without agreement on the Renaissance Dam, the stability of the region is completely threatened..

"The hawks are the ones who have the upper hand in everything" ..# Long live_Egypt ✌️🇪🇬 pic.twitter.com/VB8QxuFfTL

— EslAm OthmAn🦅🇪🇬 (@Esll7970Gladii) June 26, 2021

An Ethiopian general came out talking to Russia Today about the Renaissance Dam in the same terms that Israel had previously spoken about the Bar Lev Line!!

.. As if he did not learn the lesson and realizes that the Egyptian solutions are unexpected and defeat what the other deems impossible, while for us it is easy and easy pic.twitter.com/DIYMcNpWqs

— faten abd alftah (@AlftahFaten) June 26, 2021

We are not advocates of war, but if it is imposed on us, we will make it like the afternoon prayer, neither a Sunnah after it nor a witr ❤️🇪🇬


About the Renaissance Dam I

am

talking pic.twitter.com/shviB1rJY7

— Ahmed Alngar (@alngar724) June 27, 2021

#Al-Nahda_dam


Before you trade the


statements of the Ethiopians,


whether military


or civilians,


I said I think about this statement


👇 so that you will


forget 😁 pic.twitter.com/wOSgrrmRhP

— Twitter Mafia 🔫✊💪🌶🌶 (@R2iZl) June 26, 2021

Egyptian reply

It is noteworthy that Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said, after the Ethiopian general's statements, that Ethiopia's "claims are aimed at evading and evading obligations," and that Egypt has "the ability to defend the interests of its people."

Shoukry added that Ethiopian officials "are making provocative statements about military action, to divert attention and evade the agreement."

He also stressed that Ethiopia refused to resume negotiations under the auspices of the African Union in Kinshasa, "and negotiations are still frozen due to Ethiopian intransigence," as he put it.

During a telephone interview with the media, Amr Adib, on the "Al-Hekaya" program broadcast on the Saudi-owned satellite channel "MBC Egypt", Shukri said that Egypt knows very well what the rights of Egypt and its people are, and how to defend them.

And Shoukry continued, in the event of damage, the Egyptian state will not tolerate in defending the interests of its people, whether the water reservation in the current year is not completely or what we have of water in the High Dam, this is one thing and defending our rights is another matter.

It is noteworthy that Egypt informed the UN Security Council on June 12 of its objection to Ethiopia's intention to carry out the second filling of the lake of the Renaissance Dam, set for next July.

Sudan and Egypt exchange accusations with Ethiopia of being responsible for the failure of negotiations over the dam being built by Addis Ababa on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile. Egypt and Sudan say that it threatens their historical rights in the river.