(Bloomberg) — Egypt and Sudan condemned Ethiopia’s start of the second phase of filling a controversial Nile dam, warning the move violates existing agreements and threatens security in the region.

The comments, in a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, came after the two countries said they’d been informed by Ethiopia that it had resumed filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam — a project the two North African nations fear will curtail their access to a vital source of fresh water. Egypt is taking its case to the United Nations Security Council this week.

The step “represents a dangerous escalation that reveals Ethiopia’s bad faith,” Egypt’s foreign ministry said.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.