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112-1006: 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. Beja , Arabic and English are spoken there. Spelled in Arabic : مُثَلَّث حَلَايِب Muthallath Ḥalāyib , lit. "Halaib Triangle"; pronounced in Sudanese Arabic [muˈsallas ħaˈlaːjib] , and in Egyptian Arabic [moˈsællæs ħæˈlæːjeb] . On 19 January 1899, an agreement between

224-624: A bill to reduce the president's powers, prompting al-Bashir to dissolve parliament and declare a state of emergency , tensions began to rise between al-Bashir and al-Turabi. Reportedly, al-Turabi was suspended as chairman of National Congress Party, after he urged a boycott of the president's re-election campaign. Then, a splinter-faction led by al-Turabi, the Popular National Congress Party (PNC) signed an agreement with Sudan People's Liberation Army , which led al-Bashir to believe that they were plotting to overthrow him and

336-731: A boiling point when the Sudanese military bombed territory in South Sudan, leading to hostilities over the disputed Heglig (or Panthou) oil fields located along the Sudan-South Sudan border. Omar al-Bashir sought the assistance of numerous non-western countries after the West, led by America, imposed sanctions against him, he said: "From the first day, our policy was clear: To look eastward, toward China , Malaysia , India , Pakistan , Indonesia , and even Korea and Japan , even if

448-553: A city, and various civilian projects are under construction. Mamdouh Ali Omara was elected by the local inhabitants as representative for the Halayeb area in the Egyptian parliamentary election of November 2015. In 2016, an Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a brief statement that these are Egyptian territories subject to Egyptian sovereignty, and that Egypt had no additional comment to make. International arbitration requires

560-537: A complicated and frequently antagonistic relationship for many years. President al-Bashir said the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a Darfuri rebel group, had attacked Khartoum three years ago using Libyan trucks, equipment, arms, ammunition and money. He said God had given Sudan a chance to respond, by sending arms, ammunition and humanitarian support to the Libyan revolutionaries. "Our God, high and exalted, from above

672-652: A court decided whether he should be handed over to the ICC for war crimes. He, nevertheless, was allowed to leave South Africa soon afterward. Luis Moreno Ocampo and Amnesty International claimed that al-Bashir's plane could be intercepted in International Airspace. Sudan announced that the presidential plane would always be escorted by fighter jets of the Sudanese Air Force to prevent his arrest. In March 2009, just before al-Bashir's visit to Qatar,

784-663: A crisis in the diplomatic relations between Sudan and Chad . The rebels in Darfur lost the support from Libya after the death of Muammar Gaddafi and the collapse of his regime in 2011. In July 2008, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno Ocampo , accused al-Bashir of genocide , crimes against humanity , and war crimes in Darfur. The court issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir on 4 March 2009 on counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but ruled that there

896-674: A decade amassing intelligence data on bin Laden and a wide array of Islamists through their periodic annual visits for the PAIC conferences. In May 1996, after the series of Erwa secret meetings on US soil, the Clinton Administration demanded that Sudan expel Bin Laden. Bashir complied. Controversy erupted about whether Sudan had offered to extradite bin Laden in return for rescinding American sanctions that were interfering with Sudan's plans to develop oil fields in southern areas of

1008-490: A discrepancy between the straight political boundary between Egypt and Sudan established in 1899, and the irregular administrative boundary established in 1902. Egypt asserts the political boundary, and Sudan asserts the administrative boundary, with the result that the Halaib Triangle is claimed by both and Bir Tawil by neither. In 2014, author Alastair Bonnett described Bir Tawil as the only place on Earth that

1120-483: A helicopter crash. Al-Bashir does not have any children of his own. In 1975, al-Bashir was sent to the United Arab Emirates as the Sudanese military attaché . When he returned home, al-Bashir was made a garrison commander. In 1981, al-Bashir returned to his paratroop background when he became the commander of an armored parachute brigade. The Sudanese Ministry of Defense website says that al-Bashir

1232-577: A local level. But real war as such, I think we are over that," he said. This perspective is contradicted by reports which indicate that violence continues in Darfur while peace efforts have been stalled repeatedly. Violence between Sudan's military and rebel fighters has beset South Kordofan and Blue Nile states since disputed state elections in May 2011, an ongoing humanitarian crisis that has prompted international condemnation and U.S. congressional hearings. In 2012, tensions between Sudan and South Sudan reached

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1344-623: A new paved road has connected the triangle to Port Sudan . It was reported in the Sudanese daily Al-Ahram Today on 22 April 2010 that Al-Taher Muhammad Hasaay, the former head of the Halaib Council and a member of the Bisharin tribe who was campaigning against the Egyptian military presence in the Halaib Triangle, died in a hospital in Cairo after having been detained by Egyptian security forces without trial for two years. A delegation of

1456-765: A plan to destroy the three main ethnic groups— Fur , Masalit , and Zaghawa —with a campaign of murder, rape, and deportation . The arrest warrant is supported by NATO , the Genocide Intervention Network , and Amnesty International . An arrest warrant for al-Bashir was issued on 4 March 2009 by a pre-trial chamber composed of judges Akua Kuenyehia of Ghana , Anita Usacka of Latvia , and Sylvia Steiner of Brazil indicting him on five counts of crimes against humanity (murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape) and two counts of war crimes ( pillaging and intentionally directing attacks against civilians). The court ruled that there

1568-428: A referendum on independence . It created a co-vice president position and allowed the north and south to split oil deposits equally, but also left both the north's and south's armies in place. John Garang , the south's peace agreement appointed co-vice president, died in a helicopter crash on 1 August 2005, three weeks after being sworn in. This resulted in riots, but the peace was eventually re-established and allowed

1680-700: A state visit in July 2010. He was also invited to attend conferences in Denmark and Turkey . On 28 November 2011, following a visit to Kenya , Kenya's High Court Judge Nicholas Ombija ordered the Minister of Internal Security to arrest al-Bashir, "should he set foot in Kenya in the future". In June 2015, while in South Africa for an African Union meeting, al-Bashir was prohibited from leaving that country while

1792-498: Is "suspected of being criminally responsible, as an indirect co-perpetrator". The court's decision was opposed by the African Union , Arab League and Non-Aligned Movement as well as the governments of Libya, Somalia , Jordan , Turkey , Egypt , South Sudan, Djibouti , Eritrea , Pakistan , Algeria , Iraq , Saudi Arabia , Kuwait , Oman , Palestine , Ethiopia , Tunisia , Morocco , Lebanon , Bahrain , Qatar and

1904-402: Is a nature reserve declared by Egypt in a decree signed by the former prime minister Ahmed Nazif . 22°28′9″N 35°31′23″E  /  22.46917°N 35.52306°E  / 22.46917; 35.52306 Bir Tawil Bir Tawil ( Egyptian Arabic : بير طويل , romanized:  Bīr Ṭawīl , lit.   'tall water well', [biːɾ tˤɑˈwiːl] )

2016-476: Is a 2,060 km (795.4 sq mi) area of land along the border between Egypt and Sudan , which is uninhabited and claimed by neither country. When spoken of in association with the neighbouring Halaib Triangle , it is sometimes referred to as the Bir Tawil Triangle , despite the area's quadrilateral shape; the two regions border at a quadripoint . Its unclaimed status results from

2128-404: Is also dense cover of acacias , mangroves and other shrubs , in addition to endemic species of plants such as Biscutella elbensis . The highest peaks in the area are Mount Elba (1,435 m (4,708 ft)), Mount Shellal (1,409 m (4,623 ft)), Mount Shendib (1,911 m (6,270 ft)) and Mount Shendodai (1,526 m (5,007 ft)). The mountainous area of Gebel Elba

2240-522: Is an Egyptian town just on the northern administrative boundary. The closest Sudanese town south of the disputed area is Osief (Marsa Osief), located 26 kilometres (16 mi) south of latitude 22, the political border line claimed by Egypt based on the 1899 agreement. In the Halaib region, Afrotropical elements have their northern limits at Gebel Elba , making it a unique region among Egypt's dominating Mediterranean and North African ecosystems. There

2352-623: Is no surface water in Bir Tawil. Bir Tawil 's climate is, according to the Köppen climate classification , a hot desert climate (Bwh). For approximately three-quarters of the year the temperature can exceed 40 °C (104 °F), and in the three hottest months (June–August) it can be as high as 45 °C (113 °F). During the winters (December and January being its mildest months), Bir Tawil can have lower temperatures, with 26 °C (79 °F) as its usual temperature peak. Because

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2464-607: The Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum was destroyed by a U.S. cruise missile strike because of its alleged production of chemical weapons and links to al-Qaeda . However the U.S. State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research wrote a report in 1999 questioning the attack on the factory, suggesting that the connection to bin Laden was not accurate; James Risen reported in The New York Times : "Now,

2576-656: The Arab League complaining about what it claimed was more than 39 military and administrative incursions by Egypt into Sudanese territory since Sudan had last filed memoranda in May 1993. In January 1995, Egypt rejected a Sudanese request for the OAU Foreign Ministers' Council to review the dispute at their meeting in Addis Ababa. Then, after an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak when he arrived in Addis Ababa to attend

2688-567: The Forces of Freedom and Change alliance (which holds indirect political power during the 39-month Sudanese transition to democracy ), Hamdok, and Sovereignty Council member Siddiq Tawer stated that Bashir would be eventually transferred to the ICC. He was convicted of corruption in December of that year and sentenced to two years in prison. His trial regarding his role in the coup that brought him into power started on 21 July 2020. Al-Bashir

2800-655: The Government of Sudan announced that it had agreed to hand over al-Bashir to the ICC for trial. In October 2005, al-Bashir's government negotiated an end to the Second Sudanese Civil War , leading to a referendum in the south, resulting in the separation of the south as the country of South Sudan . In the Darfur region, he oversaw the War in Darfur that resulted in death tolls of around 10,000 according to

2912-928: The Janjaweed militia: the Sudanese government claim that up to 10,000 have been killed in this conflict; the United Nations reported that about 300,000 had died as of 2010, and other reports place the figures at between 200,000 and 400,000. During an interview with David Frost for the Al Jazeera English programme Frost Over The World in June 2008, al-Bashir insisted that no more than 10,000 had died in Darfur. The Sudanese government had been accused of suppressing information by jailing and killing witnesses since 2004, and tampering with evidence, such as covering up mass graves . The Sudanese government has also arrested and harassed journalists, thus limiting

3024-483: The Sudanese Workers' Trade Union Federation (SWTUF). They threatened to hold nationwide strikes in support of higher wages. The continued deterioration in the value of the Sudanese pound (SDG) posed grave downside risks to already soaring inflation. This, coupled with the economic slowdown, presents serious challenges to the implementation of the approved Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP). In

3136-519: The United Arab Emirates . From December 2018 onwards, al-Bashir faced large-scale protests which demanded his removal from power. On 11 April 2019, Bashir was ousted in a military coup d'état. In September 2019, Bashir was replaced by the Transitionary Military Council which transferred executive power to a mixed civilian–military Sovereignty Council and a civilian prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok . Two months later,

3248-760: The United Nations . It was unclear to date if al-Bashir would have been allowed to travel, due to previous sanctions. When al-Bashir took power the Second Sudanese Civil War had been ongoing for nine years. The war soon effectively developed into a conflict between the Sudan People's Liberation Army and al-Bashir's government. The war resulted in millions of southerners being displaced, starved, and deprived of education and health care, with almost two million casualties. Because of these actions, various international sanctions were placed on Sudan. International pressure intensified in 2001, however, and leaders from

3360-583: The United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). It was intended to have supplanted or supplemented a 7,000-troop African Union Mission in Sudan peacekeeping force . Sudan strongly objected to the resolution and said that it would see the UN forces in the region as "foreign invaders". A day after rejecting the UN forces into Sudan, the Sudanese military launched a major offensive in

3472-600: The Administration was saying, the case tying Al Shifa to Mr. bin Laden or to chemical weapons was weak." After being re-elected president of Sudan with a five-year-term in the 1996 election with 75.7% of the popular vote, al-Bashir issued the registration of legalized political parties in 1999 after being influenced by al-Turabi. Rival parties such as the Liberal Democrats of Sudan and the Alliance of

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3584-670: The African Union Commission, which were addressed to al-Bashir. The technical consultations were attended by delegations from the Government of Sudan, the African Union , and the United Nations. In 2009, General Martin Luther Agwai , head of the UNAMID, said the war was over in the region, although low-level disputes remained. "Banditry, localised issues, people trying to resolve issues over water and land at

3696-637: The Bashir regime to remove the sanctions. Erwa was presented with a series of demands from the United States, including demands for information about Osama bin Laden and other radical Islamic groups. The US demand list also encouraged Bashir's regime to move away from activities, such as hosting the Popular Arab and Islamic Congress, that impinged on Sudanese efforts to reconcile with the West. Sudan's Mukhabarat (central intelligence agency) spent half

3808-584: The Bisharin tribe stated to the Sudan Media Centre that seven of their members were also in detention: Muhammad Eissa Saeed, who had been in custody for six years, Ali Eissa Abu Eissa and Muhammad Saleem, detained for five years, and Hashim Othman, Muhammad Hussein AbdalHakam, Karrar Muhammad Tahir and Muhammad Tahir Muhammad Saleh each in holding for two years. In July 2010, it was reported in

3920-538: The Darfuri rebels it had previously supported. Both Sudanese and Chadian sides together established a joint military border patrol. On 26 October 2011, al-Bashir said that Sudan gave military support to the Libyan rebels , who overthrew Muammar Gaddafi . In a speech broadcast live on state television, al-Bashir said the move was in response to Gaddafi's support for Sudanese rebels three years ago. Sudan and Libya have had

4032-587: The Eastern Front and Beja Congress , Musa Muhammad Ahmad, has declared that the issue of Halaib's sovereignty should be decided by international arbitration in a similar manner to the issue of sovereignty over Abyei between Northern and Southern Sudan. In October 2009, the Electoral Commission that prepared a comprehensive plan for Sudan's general elections in April 2010 declared that Halaib

4144-437: The Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm that the chiefs of three tribes in the Halaib Triangle – Ababda , el-Basharya and Beja – supported the Egyptian claims for the area, stating that they are Egyptian and not Sudanese citizens, and that they have all the rights of Egyptian citizens, including national identity cards, the right to vote in elections and to serve in the Egyptian military. On November 29, 2010, an open letter

4256-674: The Fairfax hotel meetings. In a joint opinion piece in the Washington Post Outlook Section in 2003, Carney and Ijaz argued that in fact the Sudanese had offered to extradite bin Laden to a third country in exchange for sanctions relief. In August 1996, American hedge-fund manager Mansoor Ijaz traveled to Sudan and met with senior officials including al-Turabi and al-Bashir. Ijaz asked Sudanese officials to share intelligence data with US officials on bin Laden and other Islamists who had traveled to and from Sudan during

4368-627: The Halaib Triangle is Sudanese and would not be forsaken "under any circumstances." The government of Egypt is taking steps to close the Egyptian-Sudanese trade center of Alshalateen and move it to the border control pass point on the 22nd parallel, which has had its facilities enlarged and its administrative manpower increased to handle the Egyptian-Sudanese land trade. By doing this, trucks bringing goods to Egypt from Sudan will not be allowed to unload their goods in Alshalateen, as in

4480-430: The ICC charges. Al-Bashir has rejected the charges, saying "Whoever has visited Darfur, met officials and discovered their ethnicities and tribes ... will know that all of these things are lies." He described the charges as "not worth the ink they are written in". The warrant was to be delivered to the Sudanese government, which stated that they would not carry it out. The Sudanese government retaliated against

4592-483: The ICC, which gives the court jurisdiction over international crimes committed in Sudan and obligates Government of Sudan to cooperate with the ICC, and therefore the court, Amnesty International and others insist that Sudan must comply with the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court. Amnesty International stated that al-Bashir must turn himself in to face the charges, and that

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4704-598: The Jackal , Osama bin Laden , Abu Nidal and others labeled "terrorist leaders" by the United States and its allies resided in Khartoum. Sudan's role in the Popular Arab and Islamic Congress (PAIC), spearheaded by Hassan al-Turabi , represented a matter of great concern to the security of American officials and dependents in Khartoum, resulting in several reductions and evacuations of American personnel from Khartoum in

4816-574: The Muslim world. Former president of the African Union Muammar al-Gaddafi characterized the indictment as a form of terrorism. He also believed that the warrant is an attempt "by (the west) to recolonize their former colonies". Egypt said, it was "greatly disturbed" by the ICC decision and called for an emergency meeting of the UN security council to defer the arrest warrant. The Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa expressed that

4928-581: The Peoples' Working Forces, headed by former Sudanese President Gaafar Nimeiry , were established and were allowed to run for election against al-Bashir's National Congress Party , however, they failed to achieve significant support, and al-Bashir was re-elected president, receiving 86.5% of the popular vote in the 2000 presidential election . At the legislative elections that same year, al-Bashir's National Congress Party won 355 out of 360 seats, with al-Turabi as its chairman. However, after al-Turabi introduced

5040-400: The Red Sea coast. The major town in the area is Abu Ramad which lies 30 kilometres (19 mi) north west of Halaib on the coast. Abu Ramad is the last destination of the buses that connect the area to Cairo and the other cities of Egypt such as Aswan , Marsa Alam and Qena . The only other populated place is the small village of Hadarba, south east of Halaib town on the coast. Alshalateen

5152-456: The SPLM said they were often detained or stopped from campaigning. Sudan Democracy First, an umbrella organisation in the north, put forward what it called strong evidence of rigging by al-Bashir's NCP. The Sudanese Network for Democracy and Elections (Sunde) spoke of harassment and intimidation in the south, by the security forces of the SPLM. Al-Bashir had achieved economic growth in Sudan. This

5264-773: The Security Council," he said, according to the Press. Al-Bashir reiterated the Sudanese claim of sovereignty over Halaib in a 2010 speech in Port Sudan , saying "Halayeb is Sudanese and will always be Sudanese." The Eastern Front , a Sudanese politico-military coalition comprising the Beja Congress and Free Lions that signed a peace agreement with Khartoum , has stated that it considers Halaib to be part of Sudan due to its population being ethnically, linguistically and tribally connected to that country. The head of

5376-661: The Sudanese Government, but most sources suggest between 200,000 and 400,000. During his presidency, there were several violent struggles between the Janjaweed militia and rebel groups such as the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in the form of guerrilla warfare in the Darfur region. The civil war displaced over 2.5 million people out of a total population of 6.2 million in Darfur and created

5488-533: The Sudanese authorities must detain him and turn him over to the ICC if he refuses. Al-Bashir was the first sitting head of state ever indicted by the ICC. However, the Arab League and the African Union condemned the warrant. Following the indictment Al-Bashir visited China, Djibouti , Egypt, Ethiopia, India , Libya, Nigeria , Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates , and several other countries, all of which refused to have him arrested. ICC member state Chad also refused to arrest al-Bashir during

5600-454: The Sudanese authorities. Al-Bashir in his speech said that his government's priority was to end the armed rebellion and tribal conflicts in order to save blood and direct the energies of young people towards building Sudan instead of "killing and destruction". He called upon youth of the rebel groups to lay down arms and join efforts to build the country. Al Bashir sees himself as a man wronged and misunderstood. He takes full responsibility for

5712-587: The Sudanese government was reportedly considering sending fighter jets to accompany his plane to Qatar, possibly in response to France expressing support for an operation to intercept his plane in international airspace, as France has military bases in Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates. The charges against al-Bashir have been criticized and ignored in Sudan and abroad, particularly in Africa and

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5824-488: The Sudanese overture (made by al-Bashir in the letter to Hamilton), the U.S. State Department, under Secretary of State Madeleine Albright 's directive, first announced it would return American diplomats to Khartoum to pursue counterterrorism data in the Mukhabarat 's possession. Within days, the U.S. reversed that decision and imposed harsher and more comprehensive economic, trade, and financial sanctions against Sudan, which went into effect in October 1997. In August 1998, in

5936-427: The Triangle, President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt sent troops into the disputed region for the referendum of the proposed unification between Egypt and Syria in the United Arab Republic , but withdrew them the same month. Halaib was considered part of Sudan's Red Sea State and participated in all Sudanese elections until the last Sudanese election in the late 1980s. Although both countries continued to lay claim to

6048-409: The UK and Egypt relating to the administration of the Sudan defined "Soudan" as the "territories south of the 22nd parallel of latitude". It contained a provision that would give Egypt control of the Red Sea port of Suakin , but an amendment on 10 July 1899 gave Suakin to Sudan instead. On 4 November 1902, the UK drew a separate "administrative boundary", intended to reflect the actual use of the land by

6160-450: The UK drew a separate "administrative boundary", intended to reflect the actual use of the land by the tribes in the region. Bir Tawil was grazing land used by the Ababda tribe based near Aswan , and thus was placed under Egyptian administration from Cairo . Similarly, the Hala'ib Triangle to the northeast was placed under the British governor of Sudan, because its inhabitants were culturally closer to Khartoum . Egypt claims

6272-415: The United Nations called for al-Bashir to make efforts to end the conflict and allow humanitarian and international workers to deliver relief to the southern regions of Sudan. Much progress was made throughout 2003. The peace was consolidated with the official signing by both sides of the Nairobi Comprehensive Peace Agreement 9 January 2005, granting Southern Sudan autonomy for six years, to be followed by

6384-466: The Western influence upon some [of these] countries is strong. We believe that the Chinese expansion was natural because it filled the space left by Western governments, the United States, and international funding agencies. The success of the Sudanese experiment in dealing with China without political conditions or pressures encouraged other African countries to look toward China." Chadian President Idriss Déby visited Khartoum in 2010 and Chad kicked out

6496-406: The analysts renewed their doubts and told Assistant Secretary of State Phyllis Oakley that the C.I.A.'s evidence on which the attack was based was inadequate. Ms. Oakley asked them to double-check; perhaps there was some intelligence they had not yet seen. The answer came back quickly: There was no additional evidence. Ms. Oakley called a meeting of key aides and a consensus emerged: Contrary to what

6608-437: The area, a charge which Egypt denied. Nevertheless, by March 1999, the countries were in diplomatic discussions aimed at improving relations between them. During a visit to Egypt by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in December 1999, a joint communique was issued pledging to solve the Halaib dispute "in an integrational brotherly context..." In January 2000, Sudan withdrew its forces from the area, effectively ceding control of

6720-444: The army." He received his primary education there , and his family later moved to Khartoum North where he completed his secondary education and became a supporter of Al-Hilal . Al-Bashir is married to his cousin Fatima Khalid. He also has a second wife named Widad Babiker Omer, who had a number of children with her first husband Ibrahim Shamsaddin, a member of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation who had died in

6832-411: The border zone to Egypt, whose forces have occupied and administered the area since. In 2004, Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir claimed that despite his nation's withdrawal in 2000, and Egypt's de facto control of the Triangle, the area still rightfully belonged to Sudan, which had "never relinquished" it. "We did not make any concessions.... The proof is that we have recently renewed the complaint to

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6944-442: The candidates in the 2010 Sudanese presidential election , the first democratic election with multiple political parties participating since the 1986 election . It had been suggested that by holding and winning a legitimate presidential elections in 2010, al-Bashir had hoped to evade the ICC's warrant for his arrest. On 26 April, he was officially declared the winner after Sudan's election commission announced he had received 68% of

7056-399: The capture and arrest on Sudanese soil of Carlos the Jackal . In early 1996, al-Bashir authorized his Defense Minister at the time, El Fatih Erwa, to make a series of secret trips to the United States to hold talks with American officials, including officers of the CIA and United States Department of State about American sanctions policy against Sudan and what measures might be taken by

7168-471: The chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation, he allied himself with Hassan al-Turabi , the leader of the National Islamic Front , who, along with al-Bashir, began institutionalizing Sharia law in the northern part of Sudan. Further on, al-Bashir issued purges and executions of people whom he alleged to be coup leaders in the upper ranks of the army, the banning of associations, political parties, and independent newspapers, as well as

7280-440: The conflict in Darfur, he says, but says that his government did not start the fighting and has done everything in its power to end it. Al Bashir had signed two peace agreements for Darfur: The agreement also provided for power sharing at the national level: movements that sign the agreement will be entitled to nominate two ministers and two four ministers of state at the federal level and will be able to nominate 20 members to

7392-467: The consent of the concerned parties, whereas Egypt has been refusing arbitration to date. A new asphalt-paved road has been built which begins south-west of Alshalateen and goes through the western portion of the triangle to the border pass of Suhin (Sohin), which is located at the 22nd parallel. In the future, this road will connect to the city of Abu Hamad in Sudan. Parts of the road can be seen on Google Earth and Bing maps. The town of Halaib lies on

7504-442: The country. American officials insisted the secret meetings were agreed only to pressure Sudan into compliance on a range of anti-terrorism issues. The Sudanese insisted that an offer to extradite bin Laden had been made in a secret one-on-one meeting at a Fairfax hotel between Erwa and the then CIA Africa Bureau chief on condition that Washington end sanctions against Bashir's regime. Ambassador Timothy M. Carney attended one of

7616-492: The early to mid 1990s. Sudan's Islamist links with international terrorist organizations represented a special matter of concern for the American government, leading to Sudan's 1993 designation as a state sponsor of terrorism and a suspension of U.S. Embassy operations in Khartoum in 1996. In late 1994, in an initial effort to reverse his nation's growing image throughout the world as a country harboring terrorists, Bashir secretly cooperated with French special forces to orchestrate

7728-578: The extent of press coverage of the situation in Darfur. While the United States government has described the conflict as genocide , the UN has not recognized the conflict as such. ( see List of declarations of genocide in Darfur ) The United States Government stated in September 2004 "that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility and that genocide may still be occurring". On 29 June 2004, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell met with al-Bashir in Sudan and urged him to make peace with

7840-541: The government. Further on, al-Turabi's influence and that of his party's "'internationalist' and ideological wing" waned "in favor of the 'nationalist' or more pragmatic leaders who focus on trying to recover from Sudan's disastrous international isolation and economic damage that resulted from ideological adventurism". At the same time, Sudan worked to appease the United States and other international critics by expelling members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad and encouraging bin Laden to leave. On al-Bashir's orders, al-Turabi

7952-423: The green light to float a new currency called Sudanese dinar to replace the battered old Sudanese pound that had lost 90 percent of its worth during the turbulent 1980s; the currency was later changed back to pounds, but at a much higher rate. He was later elected president (with a five-year term) in the 1996 national election , where he was the only candidate legally allowed to run for election. Omar al-Bashir

8064-525: The imprisonment of leading political figures and journalists. On 16 October 1993, al-Bashir's increased his power when he appointed himself President of the country, after which he disbanded the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation and all other rival political parties. The executive and legislative powers of the council were later given to al-Bashir completely. In the early 1990s, al-Bashir's administration gave

8176-602: The land, joint control of the area remained in effect until 1992, when Egypt objected to Sudan's granting of exploration rights for the waters off the Triangle to a Canadian oil company. Negotiations began, but the company pulled out of the deal until sovereignty was settled. In July 1994, Sudan sent memoranda to the United Nations Security Council , the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and

8288-463: The latitude 22° territorial boundary of 1899 as the border between the two countries, while Sudan held to the claimed 1902 administrative boundary. As a result, both Egypt and Sudan claim sovereignty over the territory. Conversely, the area south of the line which had been administered by Egypt, Bir Tawil , is a terra nullius , claimed by neither country. In February 1958, two years after Sudanese independence, with Sudan planning to hold elections in

8400-554: The length of its eastern and western borders are 26 kilometres (16 mi) and 49 kilometres (30 mi) respectively. In the north of the area is the mountain Jabal Ṭawil ( جبل طويل ), with a height of 459 metres (1,506 ft). In the east is Gabal Hagar El Zarqa , with a height of 662 metres (2,172 ft), marking the territory's highest point. In the south is the Wadi Ṭawil ( وادي طويل ), also called Khawr Abū Bard . There

8512-474: The meeting, Egypt accused Sudan of complicity, and, among other responses, strengthened its control of the Halaib Triangle, expelling Sudanese police and other officials. In 1998, relations between Egypt and Sudan somewhat improved, and the countries announced their intention to work together to resolve the Halaib Triangle dispute, with increased cooperation between their security forces. Later that year, though, Sudan accused Egypt of harassing Sudanese citizens in

8624-491: The mid-1990s, a feud between al-Bashir and al-Turabi began, mostly due to al-Turabi's links to Islamic fundamentalist groups, as well as allowing them to operate out of Sudan, even personally inviting Osama bin Laden to the country. The United States had listed Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1993, mostly due to al-Bashir and Hassan al-Turabi taking complete power in the early 1990s. U.S . firms have been barred from doing business in Sudan since 1997. In 1998,

8736-530: The national legislature. The movements will be entitled to nominate two state governors in the Darfur region. On 14 July 2008, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno Ocampo , alleged that al-Bashir bore individual criminal responsibility for genocide , crimes against humanity , and war crimes that had been committed in Darfur since 2003. The prosecutor accused al-Bashir of having "masterminded and implemented"

8848-469: The new military government suspended political parties and introduced an Islamic legal code on the national level. He then became chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (a newly established body with legislative and executive powers for what was described as a transitional period), and assumed the posts of chief of state , prime minister, chief of the armed forces, and Minister of Defence . Subsequent to al-Bashir's promotion to

8960-444: The organization emphasizes its solidarity with Sudan and condemned the warrant for "undermining the unity and stability of Sudan". The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation denounced the warrant as unwarranted and totally unacceptable. It argued that the warrant demonstrated "selectivity and double standard applied in relation to issues of war crimes". There have been large demonstrations by Sudanese people supporting Bashir and opposing

9072-557: The original border from 1899, the 22nd parallel, which would place the Hala'ib Triangle within Egypt and the Bir Tawil area within Sudan. Sudan, however, claims the administrative border of 1902, which would put Hala'ib within Sudan, and Bir Tawil within Egypt. As a result, both states claim Hala'ib and neither claims the much less valuable Bir Tawil area, which is only a tenth

9184-525: The past, but instead at the Hadarba border pass point. Wadi Halfa is another border pass point west of the Nile River at 22 degrees north. In 2009, the Egyptian electricity authority was building a line to supply the city of Alshalateen with electric power from the main Egyptian grid to replace the generators being used there. This line will extend in the future to Abu Ramad and Halaib. Since May 2010

9296-545: The previous five years. Ijaz conveyed his findings to US officials upon his return, including Sandy Berger , then Clinton's deputy national security adviser, and argued for the US to constructively engage the Sudanese and other Islamic countries. In April 1997, Ijaz persuaded al-Bashir to make an unconditional offer of counterterrorism assistance in the form of a signed presidential letter that Ijaz delivered to Congressman Lee H. Hamilton by hand. In late September 1997, months after

9408-500: The rebels, end the crisis, and lift restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Darfur. Kofi Annan met with al-Bashir three days later and demanded that he disarm the Janjaweed. After fighting stopped in July and August, on 31 August 2006, the United Nations Security Council had approved Resolution 1706 which called for a new UN peacekeeping force consisting of 17,300 military personnel and 3,300 civilians and named

9520-469: The region, the vast majority of these claims have been by declarations posted online from other locations. None of these claims, or any others, have been recognized, officially or otherwise, by any government or international organization. Bir Tawil has no settled population, but members of the Ababda and Bishari tribes pass through the region, and unregulated mining camps have been established throughout

9632-565: The region. In March 2007, the United Nations Human Rights Council accused Sudan's government of taking part in "gross violations" in Darfur and urged the international community to take urgent action to protect people in Darfur. A high-level technical consultation was held in Addis Ababa , Ethiopia, on 11– 12 June 2007, pursuant to the 4 June 2007 letters of the secretary-general and the chairperson of

9744-457: The seven skies, gave us the opportunity to reciprocate the visit," he said. "The forces which entered Tripoli, part of their arms and capabilities, were 100% Sudanese," he told the crowd. His speech was well received by a large crowd in the eastern Sudanese town of Kassala. But the easy availability of weapons in Libya, and that country's poorly guarded border with Darfur, are also of great concern to

9856-400: The siege of Halaib, the fact that its inhabitants live within barbed wire and that anything from Sudan is refused entry on the premise that Halaib is Egyptian and that the tribes' camels are not allowed to travel and graze for pasture in the ancestral lands of the Bisharin from Halaib to the neighbouring state of River Nile in Sudan. The Egyptian government converted the village of Halayeb to

9968-550: The size, and has no permanent settlements or access to the sea. There is no basis in international law for either Sudan or Egypt to claim both territories, and neither nation is willing to cede Hala'ib . With no recognized third state claiming the neglected area, Bir Tawil is one of the few land areas of the world not claimed by any recognised state. Bir Tawil is 2,060 km (795.4 sq mi) in size. The length of its northern and southern borders are 95 kilometres (59 mi) and 46 kilometres (29 mi) respectively;

10080-489: The southerners to vote in a referendum of independence at the end of the six-year period. On 9 July 2011, following a referendum, the region of Southern Sudan split off from Sudan to form South Sudan . Since 1968, Sudanese politicians had attempted to create separate factions of "Africans" and "Arabs" in the western area of Darfur , a difficult task as the population were substantially intermarried and could not be distinguished by skin tone. This internal political instability

10192-469: The speaker of parliament, in a palace coup . He was reelected by popular vote for a five-year term during the 2000 Sudanese general election . From 2005 to 2010, a transitional government was set up under a 2005 peace accord that ended the 21-year long Second Sudanese Civil War and saw the formation of a power-sharing agreement between Salva Kiir 's Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and al Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP). Al-Bashir

10304-495: The territory in search of gold deposits. Young Pioneer Tours operated two tours to the territory in 2019 and 2024, and claimed the existence of permanent settlements related to the unregulated mining camps. Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir President of Sudan Government Wars Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (born 1 January 1944) is a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as Sudan's head of state under various titles from 1989 until 2019, when he

10416-476: The territory is far from the ocean (being at least 200 km or 120 mi away from the Red Sea), the diurnal temperature range throughout the region is large, about 20 °C (36 °F) year-round. Due to its status as de jure unclaimed territory, a number of individuals and organizations have attempted to claim Bir Tawil as a micronation ; because of the remoteness and hostile climate of

10528-472: The tribes in the region. The 1902 border assigned administration of the territory of the Ababda tribe south of the 22-degree latitude line to Egypt, and gave to Sudan the grazing land of the Beja tribe north of the line to administer. The Sudan-administered territory comprised about 18,000 km (7000 sq. mi.), including the towns of Halaib and Abu Ramad . When Sudan became independent in 1956, Egypt regarded

10640-691: The wake of the East Africa embassy bombings , the U.S. launched cruise missile strikes against Khartoum. U.S. Ambassador to Sudan, Tim Carney, departed post in February 1996 and no new ambassador was designated until December 2019, when U.S. president Donald Trump 's administration reached an agreement with the new Sudanese government to exchange ambassadors. Al-Bashir announced in August 2015 that he would travel to New York in September to speak at

10752-403: The warrant by expelling a number of international aid agencies , including Oxfam and Mercy Corps . President Bashir described the aid agencies as thieves who take "99 percent of the budget for humanitarian work themselves, giving the people of Darfur 1 percent" and as spies in the work of foreign regimes. Bashir promised that national agencies will provide aid to Darfur. Al-Bashir was one of

10864-559: Was habitable but was not claimed by any recognised government . On 19 January 1899, an agreement between the United Kingdom and Egypt relating to the administration of Sudan defined "Soudan" as the "territories south of the 22nd parallel of latitude ". It contained a provision that would give Egypt control of the Red Sea port of Suakin , but an amendment on 10 July 1899 gave Suakin to Sudan instead. On 4 November 1902,

10976-530: Was a journalist, politician, and noted opponent of South Sudan. As a boy, he was nicknamed 'Omeira' – Little Omar. He belongs to the Banu Bedaria , a Bedouin tribe belonging to the larger Ja'alin coalition, a Sudanese Arab tribe in middle north of Sudan (once a part of the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan ). As a child, Al-Bashir loved football . "Always in defence," a cousin said. "That's why he went into

11088-401: Was aggravated by cross-border conflicts with Chad and Libya and the 1984–1985 Darfur famine. In 2003, the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudanese Liberation Army –accusing the government of neglecting Darfur and oppressing non-Arabs in favor of Arabs – began an armed insurgency. Estimates vary of the number of deaths resulting from attacks on the non-Arab/Arabized population by

11200-462: Was barred from entering the border area. Ahmed's visit was intended to "assert [Sudanese] sovereignty over the Halaib Triangle and inspect the situation of the people and provide moral and financial support to the members of the Sudanese army unit trapped inside since the [Egyptian] occupation began." His remarks were the first official recognition that Sudanese Army personnel remained inside the area of de facto Egyptian control. Ahmed also asserted that

11312-580: Was born on 1 January 1944 in Hosh Bannaga , a village on the outskirts of Shendi , just north of the capital, Khartoum , to a family that hails from the Ja'alin tribe of northern Sudan . His mother was Hedieh Mohamed al-Zain, who died in 2019. His father, Hassan ibn Ahmed, was a smalltime dairy farmer. He is the second among twelve brothers and sisters, his younger brother Othman was killed in South Sudan during his presidency. His uncle, Al Taib Mustafa ,

11424-526: Was deposed in a coup d'état . He was subsequently incarcerated, tried and convicted on multiple corruption charges. He came to power in 1989 when, as a brigadier general in the Sudanese Army , he led a group of officers in a military coup that ousted the democratically elected government of prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi after it began negotiations with rebels in the south; he subsequently replaced President Ahmed al-Mirghani as head of state. He

11536-681: Was elected president (with a five-year term) in the 1996 national election and Hassan al-Turabi was elected to a seat in the National Assembly where he served as speaker of the National Assembly "during the 1990s". In 1998, al-Bashir and the Presidential Committee put into effect a new constitution, allowing limited political associations in opposition to al-Bashir's National Congress Party and his supporters to be formed. On 12 December 1999, al-Bashir sent troops and tanks against parliament and ousted Hassan al-Turabi ,

11648-607: Was elected three times as president in elections that have been under scrutiny for electoral fraud . In 1992, al-Bashir founded the National Congress Party , which remained the dominant political party in the country until 2019. In March 2009, al-Bashir became the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), for allegedly directing a campaign of mass killing, rape, and pillage against civilians in Darfur . On 11 February 2020,

11760-544: Was imprisoned based on allegations of conspiracy in 2000 before being released in October 2003. Al-Turabi was again imprisoned in March 2004 and released in July 2005, at the height of the peace agreement in the civil war. From the early 1990s, after al-Bashir assumed power, Sudan backed Iraq in its invasion of Kuwait and was accused of harboring and providing sanctuary and assistance to Islamic terrorist groups. Carlos

11872-600: Was in the Western Command from 1967 to 1969 and then the Airborne Forces from 1969 to 1987 until he was appointed commander of the 8th Infantry Brigade (independent) from the period 1987 to 30 June 1989. When he returned to Sudan as a colonel in the Sudanese Army , al-Bashir led a group of army officers in ousting the unstable coalition government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi in a bloodless military coup on 30 June 1989. Under al-Bashir's leadership,

11984-496: Was insufficient evidence to prosecute him for genocide. However, Usacka wrote a dissenting opinion arguing that there were "reasonable grounds to believe that Omar Al Bashir has committed the crime of genocide". Sudan is not a state party to the Rome Statute establishing the ICC, and thus claims that it does not have to execute the warrant. However, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1593 (2005) referred Sudan to

12096-461: Was insufficient evidence to prosecute him for genocide. However, on 12 July 2010, the court issued a second warrant containing three separate counts of genocide. The new warrant, like the first, was delivered to the Sudanese government , which did not recognize either the warrant or the ICC. The indictments do not allege that Bashir personally took part in such activities; instead, they say that he

12208-476: Was one of the Red Sea State electoral districts and that its people should exercise their constitutional rights and register in order to participate in the general elections. Voter registration did not take place in the Halaib Triangle area because the team from the Sudanese election commission was refused entry by Egyptian authorities. In December 2009, the Sudanese presidential assistant Musa Mohamed Ahmed

12320-576: Was pushed further by the drilling and extraction of oil- However, economic growth was not shared by all. Headline inflation in 2012 approached the threshold of chronic inflation (period average 36%), about 11% up from the budget projection of 2012 reflecting the combined effects of inflationary financing, the depreciation of the exchange rate, and the continued removal of subsidies, as well as high food and energy prices. This economic downturn prompted cost of living riots that erupted into Arab Spring -style anti-government demonstrations, raising discontent within

12432-570: Was reelected president in the 2010 Sudanese general election with 68% of the popular vote; while Salva Kiir was elected President of Southern Sudan . These elections were agreed on earlier in the 2005 peace accord. The election was marked by corruption, intimidation, and inequality. European observers, from the European Union and the Carter Center , criticised the polls as "not meeting international standards". Candidates opposed to

12544-481: Was sent to the President of Sudan by Muhammad Al-Hassan Okair (Honda) who had been the parliamentary member of Halaib in 1995, from Halaib itself. The letter was written on behalf of the Bisharin , Hamad-Orab and Aliyaab tribes and complained of the forced inclusion of 20 villages that had been administered under indigenous civil society structures into two Egyptian electoral districts. The letter further complained of

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