Halaib Triangle

Halaib Triangle مُثَلَّث حَلَايِب
Disputed territory
Location of the Halaib Triangle
Coordinates: 22°28′09″N 35°31′23″E / 22.46917°N 35.52306°E / 22.46917; 35.52306
Country	De jure Disputed area between:  Egypt  Sudan De facto Administered by:  Egypt
Governorate	Red Sea Governorate (Egypt)
State	Red Sea State (Sudan)
Area
• Total	20,580 km2 (7,950 sq mi)
• Disputed area	20,580 km2 (7,950 sq mi)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)

The Halaib Triangle is an area of land measuring 20,580 square kilometres (7,950 sq mi) located on the Northeast African coast of the Red Sea. The area, which takes its name from the town of Halaib, is 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,^[1] which gave administrative responsibility for an area of land north of the line to Sudan, which was an Anglo-Egyptian client at the time. With the independence of Sudan in 1956, both Egypt and Sudan claimed sovereignty over the area. The area has been considered to be a part of the Sudan's Red Sea State, and was included in local elections until the late 1980s. In 1994, the Egyptian military moved to take control of the area as a part of Red Sea Governorate, and Egypt has been actively investing in it since then.^[2] Egypt has been recently categorical in rejecting international arbitration or even political negotiations regarding the area.^[3]

The description of the area as a "triangle" is a rough approximation. The southern boundary follows latitude 22°, the northeastern consists of the Red Sea coast, and the northwestern is jagged. A smaller area south of latitude 22°, referred to as Bir Tawil, joins the Halaib Triangle at its westernmost point along the latitude line – neither Sudan nor Egypt claims Bir Tawil.^[4]

Beja, Arabic and English are spoken there.