Tension keeps rising in Cairo over Turkey-Sudan island pact
The Turkish-Sudanese deal over Suakin Island has sparked angry reactions to the possibility of Turkey building a military base on the island, posing a threat to Egypt’s national security.
January is Egypt's coldest month as far as temperatures go, but things are heating up rapidly there over Turkey's recent deal to lease Suakin Island from Sudan.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey just plans to renovate the island and restore Ottoman relics. But Egypt, as well as Saudi Arabia, fears Ankara's plans go much further, to include a military base that could threaten their security.
“The Suakin Island deal is provoking anger in Egypt because it has ambiguous objectives, and because there is [already] a problem between the parties that signed the agreement and Egypt," Maj. Gen. Kamal Amer, the head of the Egyptian parliament's National Defense and Security Committee, told Al-Monitor.
Amer was referring to the Egyptian-Sudanese territorial dispute over the Halayeb and Shalateen triangle, and Sudan’s position against Egypt in Cairo's argument with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. As for Turkey, Egypt distrusts Ankara's support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt considers a terrorist group.
