Ethiopia's great thirst for water power threatens survival of tribes (Herald Scotland) ? New dam threatens vital water supply of tribespeople.

It's better to kill us first,? Olikoro says, naked apart from a piece of cloth slung over his shoulder. An AK 47 rests by his side as he stares at the Omo river and ­contemplates his stark, ruined future.

Olikoro, a man from the Mursi tribe, is talking about the Gibe III dam: the latest in a cascade of dams being built on the Omo river in south-west Ethiopia. The river begins its 500-mile journey in Ethiopia's emerald highlands and drops through steep gorges to a sun-scorched valley before twisting towards the jewel of Lake Turkana in Kenya.

In Addis, Ethiopia's capital, the dam is seen as essential for progress. But travelling along the river, deep into the Omo valley, one can see how the tribal people depend on the river ? and how they dread the impact it will have on the lives of the half a million people.

* Source : www.water.org