What is the Hala'ib Triangle?
Q: What is the Hala'ib Triangle?
A: The Hala'ib Triangle is an area of land measuring 20,580 square kilometres located on the Red Sea's African coast.
Q: How was the Hala'ib Triangle created?
A: The Hala'ib Triangle was created by the difference in the Egypt–Sudan border between the "political boundary" set in 1899 by the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, which runs along the 22nd parallel north, and the "administrative boundary" set by the British in 1902, which gave an area of land north of the line to Sudan.
Q: Who claimed sovereignty over the Hala'ib Triangle after Sudan became independent in 1956?
A: Both Egypt and Sudan claimed sovereignty over the Hala'ib Triangle after Sudan became independent in 1956.
Q: Why did Egypt send military units to the Hala'ib Triangle in the 1990s?
A: Egypt sent military units to the Hala'ib Triangle in the 1990s as part of a greater movement by the Egyptian government to solidify its presence in Africa, following the 1995 attempted assassination of then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Q: Who controls the Hala'ib Triangle now?
A: Egypt controls the Hala'ib Triangle now as part of the Red Sea Governorate and has been actively investing in it. The United Arab Emirates is also an active investor along with Egypt in the area.
Q: Is the Hala'ib Triangle actually a triangle?
A: The area is not shaped like a triangle—it is actually a complicated polygon. Only the southern 290 kilometres border is a straight line.
Q: What is the smaller area that touches the Hala'ib Triangle at its westernmost point called?
A: The smaller area that touches the Hala'ib Triangle at its westernmost point is called Bir Tawil, and it is not claimed by either Sudan or Egypt.
