Egypt ‘provoking’ Sudan in disputed Halayeb area, Sudanese minister

Sudan’s armed forces are facing “provocation” from the Egyptian army in the disputed area of Halayeb, Sudan’s Defence Minister, Awad Ibn Auf, said in a statement yesterday.

The minister did not give details about the nature of the provocation but in a closed hearing before the National Assembly on the security situation in the country Ibn Auf said:

The Egyptian army is harassing and provoking the Sudanese forces in Halayeb region and we are exercising restraint and waiting for the problem to be resolved politically between Presidents Al-Bashir and Al-Sisi.

Talks to discuss this issue at foreign ministerial level were postponed last week without a new date for talks being set.

The Halayeb triangle, which is a 20,580 kilometre area on the Red Sea, has been a contentious issue between Egypt and Sudan since 1958, shortly after Sudan gained its independence from British-Egyptian rule in January 1956.

Last month, the Sudanese foreign ministry announced the formulation of a roadmap to return the territory to Sudan.  The head of Sudan’s Technical Committee for Border Demarcation (TCBD), Abdallah Al-Sadiq, told the media that officials from the foreign, justice and interior ministries, the National Records Office and the TCBD met to modify files prepared by previous committees.

Read: Meeting between Sudan and Egypt postponed

In Cairo, members of parliament responded harshly and condemned Al-Sadiq’s comments. MP Hatem Bashat said the remarks were irresponsible. He claimed that Sudan was bullying Egypt with possible influence from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. MP Tariq Al-Khouli said the issue was raised after the visit of Sheikha Moza bint Nasser to Sudan, explaining that she may be behind the move due to what he said was “the Qatari regime’s hatred” of Egypt.

Halayeb and Shalateen, also known as the Halayeb triangle, is a border area that has been an issue of contention since the late 19th century. In 1899, when Britain occupied Egypt and Sudan, the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium Agreement for Sudan set the political boundary between the territories at the 22nd parallel, placing the Halayeb triangle within the Egyptian border.

However, in 1902, the British drew a separate “administrative boundary” that placed the triangle under Sudanese administration because its inhabitants were closer to Khartoum than Cairo. The area remained under Egyptian-Sudanese joint control until the dispute resurfaced in 1992, when Sudan allowed a Canadian oil company to search for petroleum in the waters off Halayeb. Negotiations began, but the company pulled out of the deal until sovereignty was settled.

Earlier this month, Al-Bashir, speaking on Al-Arabiya television, said Sudan would again refer the matter to the United Nations Security Council if Egypt refuses to negotiate.

In 2005, Cairo created an electoral district for the area, a move condemned by Sudan.