Zuqar Island (Arabic: جزيرة زقر) is an island in the Red Sea that belongs to Yemen. It lies between the coasts of mainland Yemen and Eritrea, near the Bab-el-Mandeb straits which connect the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Despite its proximity to the African continent, Zuqar Island is considered a part of Asia because it sits on the Asian continental shelf.
Ownership of Zuqar Island was long disputed between Yemen and Eritrea, along with the Hanish Islands. In 1995 this led to active conflict in the Hanish Islands conflict. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague settled the dispute in 1996, awarding the larger islands, including Zuqar, to Yemen.
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Famous quotes containing the word island:
“The island dreams under the dawn
And great boughs drop tranquillity;
The peahens dance on a smooth lawn,
A parrot sways upon a tree,
Raging at his own image in the enamelled sea.”
—William Butler Yeats (18651939)