copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Guayana Esequiba is a territory of Guyana (Guayana Esequiba, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-04-09): The dispute over the Essequibo region—an approximately 160,000 square km stretch of densely forested land that constitutes two-thirds of Guyana’s territory and is home to roughly 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens—stretches back to the 19th century, when Guyana was under colonial rule. Venezuela has laid claim to the Essequibo region since 1841, when it argued that the British Empire had encroached on Venezuelan territory in its acquisition of the territory of then-British Guiana from the Netherlands. It has also challenged the validity of the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award through which the border between Venezuela and British Guiana was decided. [...] In the letter requesting today’s meeting, Ali cited the "Organic Law for the Defense of Guayana Esequiba", which Maduro signed on 3 April. He warned that this action "cements Venezuela’s intent to annex more than two-thirds of Guyana’s sovereign territory and make it part of Venezuela". Maduro described the law as the implementation of the results of the 3 December 2023 referendum. He added that the law "establishes the creation of state number 24, the state of Guayana Esequiba within the political and territorial organization of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela". The law also reiterated Venezuela’s rejection of the validity of the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award and the ICJ’s jurisdiction on the matter.
Claim: Guayana Esequiba is a territory of Guyana (Guayana Esequiba, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-08): Venezuelans voted on Dec. 3 to implement the creation of a new state — Guayana Esequiba — in territory currently disputed by Venezuela and Guyana. Since then, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has issued a flurry of announcements suggesting that Venezuela will soon move to annex the territory west of the Essequibo River. Shortly after the votes, he designated a general as the sole administrator of Guayana Esequiba state and announced the creation of an Integrated Operational Defense Zone — ZODI Guayana Esequiba — to be headquartered in the border town of Tumeremo. Videos published by a strategic operational commander of the Venezuelan military indicate that land is being cleared near La Camorra to create an airstrip, which he said would serve as a "logistical support point." On Dec. 7, Maduro announced the construction of 120 homes for the "Esequibano-Venezuelan people" in San Martin de Turumban, a small town that sits directly on the disputed border, which may become Venezuela's launch point for additional incursions into Guyana's territory. While Guyana's President Irfaan Ali has stated his military is preparing for the "worst case scenario," the 4,150 soldiers in Guyana's military are too few to secure the entire land border.
Claim: Guayana Esequiba is a territory of Guyana (Guayana Esequiba, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-06): Venezuela’s president ordered the creation of a new state called "Guayana Esequiba" on Tuesday, following a controversial Sunday referendum which saw Venezuelan voters approving the annexation of land from neighboring Guyana. The area in question, the densely forested and oil-rich Essequibo region, amounts to about two-thirds of Guyana’s national territory. Venezuela has long claimed the land and dismisses an 1899 ruling by international arbitrators that set the current boundaries. [...] Maduro also signed a "presidential decree" creating the "High Commission for the Defense of Guayana Esequiba.
Claim: Guayana Esequiba is a territory of Guyana (Guayana Esequiba, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-04): The referendum result, announced on Monday, came after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) warned Caracas against "annexation" of the territory called Essequibo, which has long been ruled by Guyana. Venezuela has for decades laid claim to Essequibo, which makes up more than two-thirds of the territory of Guyana and is home to 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens. Guyana, a former British and Dutch colony, insists the frontiers were determined by an arbitration panel in 1899. [...] Each voter was asked five questions, including if they agreed with creating a new state called Guayana Esequiba in the Essequibo region, granting its population Venezuelan citizenship, as well as identity cards, and incorporating that state into the map of Venezuelan territory.
Claim: Guayana Esequiba is a territory of Guyana (Guayana Esequiba, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-06): Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday called for a bill to create a "Guyana Esequiba" province and ordered Venezuelan companies to prepare to enter the territory to explore for fossil fuels and minerals "immediately". The move escalated tensions over the disputed oil-rich territory. [...] However, Guyana, of which Essequibo makes up more than two-thirds and hosts 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens, has administered the territory since the frontiers were determined by an arbitration panel in 1899. [...] However, Maduro proposed at Tuesday’s government meeting that a bill be sent to the National Assembly for the creation of a "Guyana Esequiba" province.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-08-27): The Ilemi Triangle, sometimes called only Ilemi, is a disputed area in East Africa, claimed by both Kenya and South Sudan. Arbitrarily defined, it measures about 11,000 square kilometres (4,200 sq mi).[1] The term "Ilemi" may more accurately be transcribed as "Elemi" in the Didinga language, signifying acceptance. This suggest that, in Didinga history, the region became favorable when they arrived, evidenced by the thriving health of the cattle that accepted the local vegetation, indicating a symbiotic relationship between the cattle's well-being and the area. The territory is claimed by South Sudan and Kenya. The territory also borders Ethiopia and, despite use and trespass into the triangle by border tribes from within Ethiopia, the Ethiopian government has not made any official claim on the area, instead agreeing that the land was Sudanese territory in the 1902, 1907, and 1972 treaties.[2][3][4] Kenya now has de facto control of all the territory in the Ilemi Triangle up to the northern 1950 Sudanese Patrol Line.[5] The dispute arose from the 1914 treaty in which a straight parallel line was used to divide territories that were both part of the British Empire. However the Turkana people—nomadic herders—continued to move to and from the border and traditionally grazed in the area. [...] Further reading [edit]- Ilemi Triangle: Unfixed Bandit Frontier Claimed by Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia; Author: Dr. Nene Mburu
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-02-17): For decades, African states have grappled with numerous interstate border disputes, especially in resource-rich regions. In east Africa, most of these conflicts are as old as independence. The disputes flare up every so often despite interventions by agencies of the African Union and the United Nations. A fresh war of words has erupted between Kenya and South Sudan over the water- and oil-rich Ilemi Triangle border, which was first drawn up in 1914. We asked Al Chukwuma Okoli, a defence strategy scholar, four key questions. [...] Some of these conflicts have been protracted and intractable. A case in point is the Kenya–South Sudan conflict, which seems to have become more complicated in recent years. It began in 1963 when Kenya claimed the Ilemi Triangle. Ilemi is a region rich in oil and water, lying to the north of a straight border that was drawn in 1914. Kenya’s claim, and de facto control, extends beyond the limit marked in 1938. [...] Apart from the Ilemi Triangle spat, South Sudan is currently feuding with Sudan over the oil-rich Abiyei region. Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are locked in a dispute over the ownership of parts of Lake Albert. The disputed spot has potential for crude oil alongside minerals like diamonds, gold and coltan.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2015-07-14): conflict over the Ilemi Triangle between Sudan and Kenya;
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2009-08-17): The Elemi (Ilemi) triangle has seen its boundary change over the years and has locked Kenya, Sudan and Ethiopia in an enduring ownership dispute for more than a century. The dispute arose from unclear wording of colonial-era treaties, which attempted to allow for the movements of Turkana nomadic herders. There are up to five ‘borders’ describing the ambiguously defined territory, which measures between 10,320 and 14,000 square kilometres. [...] Following the dispute with Uganda over Migingo Island in Lake Victoria, the unsolved Elemi Triangle issue is returning to haunt Kenya’s policy makers. Despite their mediation of Sudan’s North-South conflict leading to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the CPA neither anticipated nor covered the matter. [...] The status of Elemi Triangle is confusing according to international institutions and the three governments. According to a former Kenyan High Commissioner in Sudan, who asked not to be named: "Ethiopia has had no claims to this territory," yet independent reports indicate that despite a 1967 border settlement, Ethiopian forces often disregard the internationally accepted border at Nadapal.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-07-06): Elemi triangle is disputed by Kenya and South Sudan which have formed a joint border commission to guide resolution of cross-border conflicts [...] Kenya and South Sudan have agreed to form a joint border commission to help resolve ethnic conflict between communities in the oil-rich Elemi Triangle. [...] The Elemi Triangle is a mineral rich area near Nadapal and is a territory claimed by both South Sudan and Kenya, the reason for delimitation of common borders.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-04-18): The Ilemi region has been described as a ‘Triangle’ located where Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia interface with each other. Ilemi has been a bloody battlefield for ethnic communities living in and straddling the borders of the three countries in this area.[1] The inter-ethnic relationships of these communities have been affected by protracted conflicts which go back many years. Besides, there are century old contentious territorial claims about which country does the Ilemi Triangle belong to. The Ilemi Triangle measures over 14,000 square kilometers approximately [2](About the size of Northern Ireland). The conflict in the Ilemi has been frequently linked to issues of access to pasture and water. However, the causes and persistence of the conflict are much more variable and complex. For communities living in the Ilemi Triangle, it is difficult to determine the extent to which international boundaries really matter for their daily lives; grass and water no matter where located takes precedence for both their survival and that of their livestock. [...] [1] Patrick. R. Devine. (2009). "Turkana-Dassanech Conflict: Causes and Consequences." Hekima University College (Catholic University of Eastern Africa). [2] Cf. Kenya National Archives, "Nairobi (hereafter KNA): DC/1SO/2/5/5 ‘The Kenya/Sudan boundary and the Ilemi Triangle" in Isiolo District Reports
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-03-10): Between South Sudan and Kenya lies a very large area of disputed land, the Ilemi Triangle. 14,000 square kilometres of sparely inhabited terrain that both countries have competing claims on. Border disputes can easily turn into armed conflict. [...] For well over a decade, PAX has accompanied communities, churches and civil society organisation in the borderlands of South Sudan and Kenya to resolve local conflicts and develop a joint future. It is paramount that the statal dispute goes hand in hand with the creation of new perspectives for peaceful development for the people who live in and around the Ilemi Triangle. Their voices are to be heard, their rights and interests assured. The PAX report ‘The Ilemi Triangle, Understanding a pastoralist border area’ offers an up-to-date account of the dynamics around the Ilemi Triangle, including a deep dive into the interests and perspectives of affected communities. It argues why and how their rights and interests are to be considered in order to resolve the Ilemi question conclusively as well as peacefully.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-03-15): The PAX report offers an up-to-date account of the dynamics around the Ilemi Triangle, including a deep dive into the interests and perspectives of affected communities. It argues why and how their rights and interests are to be considered in order to resolve the Ilemi question conclusively as well as peacefully.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2017-09-15): The Ilemi triangle is a territory of about 14,000 square km whose ownership is disputed by the neighbouring countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda. The interethnic conflict in the Ilemi triangle is basically between the Turkana of Kenya, Nyang’atom of Ethiopia and Toposa of South Sudan. Issues of limited access to resources such as pasture, water along with boundary issues are critical factors causing the conflict in the Ilemi triangle. The Shalom Center for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation (SCCRR) has been requested by the communities to assist them in putting in place mechanisms of conflict intervention. As a result, Shalom opted to equip the communities in the affected areas with skills of conflict resolution and relevant peacebuilding techniques.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-05-23): In 2019, the governments of South Sudan and Kenya signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), agreeing to demarcate their common border. In the past, unclarity and contestation about the location of this border has resulted in a disputed area, called the Ilemi Triangle. PAX has done research on the Ilemi Triangle, placing the pastoralist perspective in the context of the border demarcation process.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-08-09): The oldest dispute is that around the Ilemi Triangle a territory, claimed by Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia, and which goes back to the colonial times. Following numerous efforts to demarcate the area over the past 100 years, Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan have all made conflicting claims to the triangle. Kenya currently has the de facto control and a new independent South Sudan could reactivate the issue. The triangle is a time bomb, given recent findings that the area could be rich in oil deposits.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-02-25): The Ilemi Triangle is a portion of land whose territorial ownership is contested by Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia. Its elastic size varies between 4,000 and 5,400 square miles, depending on the years and the surveyors. The triangle is mainly inhabited by the pastoralist communities of Turkana (from Kenya); Dassanech and Nyang’atom (from Ethiopia); and, Toposa (from South Sudan). In the heart of the triangle live the Turkana community particularly in areas of Kibish, Lokamarinyang’, Koyasa, Napak, Kokuro and Todonyang’. Surrounding them on the western side is the Toposa community from South Sudan who resides in Naita area; the Nyang’atom community who are found in the northeastern side in Kang’aten, Burme and Echoke villages; and the Dassanech community come out of the eastern side and reside in Koro, Nyemomeri, Damich, Salany and Sirimiriate villages. Of importance to note is that, the grazing patterns of these pastoralist communities exists independent of state borders hence their movement back and forth across the international borders of the three states.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-03-14): The Ilemi Triangle is a sparsely populated, poorly demarcated tract of land on the border between Kenya and South Sudan. For years analysts have warned that this small, arid region has the potential to drive cross-border conflict. [...] The earliest of those surveys, known as the Maud Line, gives all of the Ilemi Triangle to what is now South Sudan. Since 1928, Kenya has administered the triangle as part of its northwestern Turkana County. It does so now using the 1950 boundary, known as the Sudanese Patrol Line, which gives Kenya all of the Triangle. [...] The Ilemi Triangle is emblematic of border disputes across Africa that have turned into competition for control of resources — particularly oil.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-02-09): The two countries, however, have a portion of their border largely undetermined at the Ilemi (also called Elemi) Triangle, a sparsely populated area of about 14,000 square kilometres. [...] The name Ilemi is believed be from a famous chief of the Anuak, a community on South Sudan’s boundary with Ethiopia. The triangle was named in honour of chief Ilemi Akwon. [...] In 1986, when the Kenyan Government published a new atlas including part of the disputed Ilemi Triangle within its territory, the result was a protest from Khartoum.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-04-20): Kenya’s claim to the Ilemi triangle is precarious since it started to administer the triangle during the Anglo-Egyptian rule of Sudan in the early nineteenth century. Sudan felt the triangle was useless hence did not develop it and therefore Kenya came on board to protect the Turkana who patrolled the area with their livestock, against raids from both Dassanech and Inyangatom.[46] In 1928, Khartoum permitted Kenya to patrol the area and Kenya sent military units of Kenya Africa rifles (KAR) who established administrative posts and put the area under Kenyan control, hence Ilemi triangle became a Kenyan territory by default. [...] The Ilemi Triangle is a piece of land joining Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia, roughly measuring between 10,320 and 14,000sq kilometers and named after Anuak Chief Ilemi Akwon.[52] The Triangle is on the fringe of Southern Sudan and is home to five ethno-linguistic communities: the Turkana, Didinga, Toposa, Inyangatom and the Dassenench who are members of the larger ethno-cultural groups of these neighbouring countries but traditionally migrate to graze in the Triangle.[53] Precisely, the conflict surrounding the Ilemi triangle originated from the unclearity of the 1907 treaty signed between the Ethiopian government under Emperor Menelik and the British, which in fact became the Kenya-Ethiopian border, latter known as the 1914 Line.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-03-10): Between South Sudan and Kenya lies a very large area of disputed land, the Ilemi Triangle. 14,000 square kilometres of sparely inhabited terrain that both countries have competing claims on. Border disputes can easily turn into armed conflict. [...] For well over a decade, PAX has accompanied communities, churches and civil society organisation in the borderlands of South Sudan and Kenya to resolve local conflicts and develop a joint future. It is paramount that the statal dispute goes hand in hand with the creation of new perspectives for peaceful development for the people who live in and around the Ilemi Triangle. Their voices are to be heard, their rights and interests assured. The PAX report 'The Ilemi Triangle, Understanding a pastoralist border area' offers an up-to-date account of the dynamics around the Ilemi Triangle, including a deep dive into the interests and perspectives of affected communities. It argues why and how their rights and interests are to be considered in order to resolve the Ilemi question conclusively as well as peacefully.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-06-29): Two weeks ago, South Sudan and Kenya signed Memorandum of Understanding to fast track the territorial border reaffirmation at Ilemi triangle as a step towards the realization of peace between the two countries. [...] Kiir’s trip to Nairobi is also expected to highlight the inter-ethnic conflict in the Ilemi triangle between the Toposa, Turkana in Kenya, and Nyang’atom of Ethiopia. The Ilemi Triangle is a mineral rich area near Nadapal, and is a territory claimed by South Sudan and Kenya.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-02-16): For decades, African states have grappled with numerous interstate border disputes, especially in resource-rich regions. In east Africa, most of these conflicts are as old as independence. The disputes flare up every so often despite interventions by agencies of the African Union and the United Nations. A fresh war of words has erupted between Kenya and South Sudan over the water- and oil-rich Ilemi Triangle border, which was first drawn up in 1914. We asked Al Chukwuma Okoli, a defence strategy scholar, four key questions._ [...] Some of these conflicts have been protracted and intractable. A case in point is the Kenya–South Sudan conflict, which seems to have become more complicated in recent years. It began in 1963 when Kenya claimed the Ilemi Triangle. Ilemi is a region rich in oil and water, lying to the north of a straight border that was drawn in 1914. Kenya’s claim, and de facto control, extends beyond the limit marked in 1938. [...] Apart from the Ilemi Triangle spat, South Sudan is currently feuding with Sudan over the oil-rich Abiyei region. Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are locked in a dispute over the ownership of parts of Lake Albert. The disputed spot has potential for crude oil alongside minerals like diamonds, gold and coltan.
Claim: Ilemi Triangle is a territory of Kenya (Ilemi Triangle, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-12-03): On the other hand, South Sudan is claiming over 14,000 square kilometers of territory, the Ilemi Triangle. The Triangle sits indeterminably around the common border between South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. In 1936, the colonial authorities in Juba allowed the British colonial governor of Kenya, to administer the Triangle. Kenya retained its administration over the territory at Sudan’s independence in 1956, and since South Sudan’s secessionist campaigns, Juba has never lost sight of Ilemi Triangle. [...] In the Ilemi Triangle, a loosely administered but largely ungoverned territory and competing claims over it, further puts the country’s territorial integrity on test. While Kenya has administered the Triangle since 1936, the Triangle is virtually an ungoverned space. The Triangle is a legendary cattle rustling hub, with communities in the region living by the law of the jungle. The Didinga, Nyangatom and Toposa of South Sudan, the Turkana of Kenya, the Dessanach of Ethiopia, and the Karamajong of Uganda engage in violent conflicts over water and pasture in the area. The ‘Ilemi communities’ have had a history of militia activity, with series of disarmament campaigns failing to rid the Triangle of small arms and light weapons.