What happened

Approximately 20 fighters of the Benishangul Gumez People's Liberation Movement, a separatist rebel group, attempted an assault on the construction site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam near the Sudan border in Benishangul-Gumuz Region on 1 March 2017. Ethiopian security forces intercepted and repelled the attackers before they could reach the dam itself; 13 of the assailants were killed in the resulting clash, while seven who fled across the border into Sudan were later apprehended by Sudanese security forces and extradited to Ethiopia. Ethiopian Communications Minister Zadig Abraha publicly alleged the attack had been organized with Eritrean backing, a characterization Eritrea disputed; the reviewed sources do not independently establish state involvement. At the time of the attack, Ethiopian officials said the roughly $5 billion dam project, built by Italy's Salini Impregilo, was nearing completion of its turbine installation, with its first generating capacity of around 750 MW expected soon. The project has long been opposed by Egypt, whose government has expressed concern that the dam could reduce Nile River flows supplying the large majority of its water resources. No damage to the dam or its equipment was reported from this attack.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.