Attempts to claim Bir Tawil as a sovereign state

Topographic map of Bir Tawil (outlined in red)

Bir Tawil is a landlocked tract of land lying between Egypt and Sudan that, owing to the nature of a border dispute between the two countries, is claimed by neither. Due to its status as de jure unclaimed territory, a number of individuals and organizations have attempted to claim it as a micronation. Because of the remoteness and hostile climate of the region, the vast majority of these claims have declared online from other locations. No claim has been recognized by any government or international organization. Claims made by the attempted settlers have received large amounts of media attention.[1]

Claimants

Jeremiah Heaton

A movie poster of the documentary The King of North Sudan
Flag of the Kingdom of North Sudan, the micronation declared by Heaton

In June 2014, Jeremiah Heaton, a 39-year-old farmer from Virginia, arrived at Bir Tawil and declared the formation of the Kingdom of North Sudan. Heaton's motives included making his daughter, Emily, a princess.[2] Heaton had reportedly agreed on a deal with Walt Disney Studios and Morgan Spurlock to produce a movie titled The Princess of North Sudan. Heaton showed interest in founding the world's first "crowd-funded nation", offering titles of nobility and other naming rights for contributors.[3] A documentary based on Heaton's story, The King of North Sudan, premiered at the Austin Film Festival in 2021. Eamon Tracy of the Irish Film Critic reviewed the documentary as "the most insane documentary seen this year".[4]

Suyash Dixit

In November 2017, Suyash Dixit, a 24-year-old Indian businessman from Indore, travelled to Bir Tawil, declaring it the Kingdom of Dixit and requesting recognition from the United Nations. Flying from Cairo to Abu Simbel, he reached Bir Tawil on November 4 via a rental car and planted sunflower seeds in the desert.[5] According to Business Insider, Dixit subsequently declared himself king, styling himself as King Suyash I.[6]

Nadera Nassif

In September 2019, a group with an unknown monarch and a "Prime Minister", Nadera Nassif, a businesswoman with companies based in Michigan, claimed the existence of the "Kingdom of the Yellow Mountain". With its web servers based in Saudi Arabia, its main reason for its existence was explained as to providing aid towards refugees. Jeremiah Heaton has denounced the organization's leader as a "mentally unhealthy person". Foreign Policy remarked that the organization was more professionally designed than the former attempts to claim Bir Tawil.[7]

Dwain Coward

In 2021, Dwain Coward, a barrister from South London, claimed the territory of Bir Tawil. Coward was notable in which he publicly acknowledged the existence of extant people residing within the territory, and established a company in Sudan to further his efforts. Coward stated that the goal of his operation was to put legislation in place to protect the territory from mercury pollution by gold miners and dismantle the regional mining black market.[8]

Reactions

The United Nations has not recognized any of the claimants as Bir Tawil's legitimate ruler.[9] A spokesman for the UN secretary-general told The Washington Post that the UN's role did not include defining a country's borders. The Washington D.C. embassies of Egypt and Sudan did not respond to comments requested by Al Jazeera.

References

  1. ^ Shenker, Jack (2016-03-03). "Welcome to the land that no country wants". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  2. ^ Liston, Enjoli (2014-07-16). "American plans to use 'his' piece of Africa for advancement of science". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  3. ^ Jackson, Joe. "Creating a kingdom". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  4. ^ "2021 Austin Film Festival Review: "The King Of North Sudan" Is The Most Insane Documentary I've Seen This Year - Irish Film Critic". www.irishfilmcritic.com. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  5. ^ "Indian man declares unclaimed 2000 sq km area in Africa his 'kingdom'". The Times of India. 2017-11-15. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  6. ^ Ma, Alexandra. "This man is the latest in a series of travellers to declare ownership of a bizarre no man's land in north Africa". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  7. ^ Dahshan, Mohamed El (2024-07-24). "A Fictional Country Is Reigniting Real Territorial Fears". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  8. ^ O'Connor, Robert (2021-10-27). "The Battle for the Last Unclaimed Land on Earth". Vice. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  9. ^ Najarro, Ileana (2023-04-15). "Virginia man's claim on African land is unlikely to pass test". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-07-23.