Sudan’s Nubians reject construction of Dal and Kajbar dams

The Association of Nubians announced its members' “utmost rejection” of the Dal and Kajbar dam projects in northern Sudan.

In a statement on Sunday, the Association said that the construction of the two dams will wipe out more than 7,000 years of Nubian civilisation, and called for a large campaign against the dams in Sudan and abroad.

The Nubians also called on Saudi Arabia “not to get involved in the financing of this project which is benefiting the regime in Khartoum at the expense of the Nubian culture and territory”.

Last Tuesday, Saudi Arabia signed an agreements on the funding of the Dal, Kajbar, and El Shereik dams in northern Sudan.

Northern Sudan dams

The Sudanese government plans to transform the Nile, “the only stretch of fertile land north of Khartoum”, into a string of water reservoirs, the International Rivers organisation stated in 2011.

The Merowe Dam was completed in 2009. The project doubled Sudan’s electricity generation, but displaced more than 50,000 people from the Nile Valley to arid desert locations. The construction of the dam impoverished thousands of people and triggered serious human rights violations. Protests were violently suppressed.

The planned Kajbar Dam on the Nile’s third cataract will create a reservoir of 110 square km, and generate 360 megawatts of electricity. International Rivers said that the project will displace more than 10,000 people and submerge an estimated 500 archaeological sites. The Dal Dam on the second cataract would have a capacity of 340-450 megawatts, and would displace at least 5,000 people.

The Sudanese government has responded harshly to protests against the Kajbar and Dal Dams. In 2007, security forces killed four, and injured at least 20 people protesting peacefully against the construction of the Kajbar Dam. Activists of Nubian committees against the dams were detained last and this year. Merowe dam displaced are still witing for compensation.

Affected Nubians have warned that the projects could lead to a conflict similar to that of Darfur.