CAIRO — The conflict over the Halayeb triangle, a small border region claimed by Cairo and Khartoum, has surfaced again as Sudan announced on March 20 the formation of a committee to demarcate the Sudanese border and to settle the issue of the border triangle area of Halayeb, Abu Ramad and Shalateen. The committee will also expel Egyptians by diplomatic means, as per press statements made by Abdullah al-Sadiq, the head of the Technical Committee for Border Demarcation. This exacerbated the strained relations between Egypt and Sudan over the ownership of this region.

Sadiq told the Sudanese Media Center that the committee held a meeting in preparation for laying down the work parameters and setting a road map concerning the region.

In another press statement made on the same day to the Sudan Tribune newspaper, Sadiq said that the Sudanese Foreign Ministry invited several parties from Sudan, including the ministries of Justice, Interior and Foreign Affairs, the National Records Office of Sudan, and the Technical Committee for Border Demarcation in order to compile the work of previous committees on Halayeb and Shalateen and update their findings.

The Egyptian-Sudanese conflict over the Halayeb and Shalateen region erupted amid two conflicting claims over the border issue. While Sudan believes it is entitled to impose its sovereignty over the triangle because it is part of the Sudanese territories, Egypt says that the triangle is Egyptian and rejects any international arbitration attempt. Amid this Egyptian categorical rejection of international arbitration — or any political negotiations, for that matter — Sudan used the term “expel” in reference to expelling Egyptians from the area.