Oman–Yemen border

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Map of Yemen, with Oman to the east

The Oman–Yemen border is 294 km (183 mi) in length and runs from the tripoint with Saudi Arabia in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south.[1]

Description

The border consists essentially of a single straight line orientated NW-SE, from the Saudi tripoint down to the Arabian Sea coast at Ras Darbat Ali. The exception is a small triangular 'kink' roughly halfway along the boundary line, which juts into Yemen so as to include the town of Habarut within Oman. Topographically the border traverses the Rub' al Khali desert in the north and the Jabal Qamar in the Dhofar Mountains in the south.

History

Map of Oman from 1979, showing the Yemen border as undefined

The far east of what is today Yemen historically formed the

Dhofar region in 1829.[3] A border between the Aden and Oman was not demarcated during the colonial period, though British government documents suggest that the Ras Darbat Ali cape had been fixed as Oman's westernmost point as early as 1933–35, with a British government document recording that "it had been agreed that the question was not at that time an important one."[4] A British letter of 1947 states that "the Frontier is shown as being on the west side of Ras Dharbar Ai in a Survey of India map of south-east Arabia 1:2,000,000, but on what authority this was done is not known. The mountain is locally recognised as being the boundary between Dhofar country and Mahra country on the coast at least, though to what extent this applied inland is not clear."[5]

In 1962-3 Aden colony was split into the

Dhofar Rebellion, as South Yemen allowed the Communist Dhofari insurgents to base themselves in their territory, resulting in several cross-border skirmishes.[7] Relations improved in the 1980s, with the two countries re-establishing diplomatic relation in 1983.[8]

Following the collapse of the Communist government in South Yemen, and the subsequent unification with North Yemen in 1990, a border agreement between Oman and Yemen was signed on 1 October 1992 which finalised the frontier at its current position.

Border Crossings

There are two main crossings: at Shahan (YEM)-Al-Mazyunah (OMN) in the north, and Hawf (YEM)-Sarfait (OMN) in the south.[12]

See also

  • Oman-Yemen relations

References

  1. ^ CIA World Factbook – Oman, retrieved 30 March 2020
  2. ^ Yahya al-Sewari (5 July 2019), Yemen's Al-Mahra: From Isolation to the Eye of a Geopolitical Storm, Sana’a Centre for Strategic Studies, retrieved 30 March 2020
  3. ^ Jeremy Jones and Nicholas Ridout (2015). A History of Modern Oman. Cambridge University Press. p. 134.
  4. ^ "Coll 20/10 'Muscat: S. W. Boundary of (Muscat-Aden): Spheres of Responsibility of the Air Authorities in Iraq and Aden' [22v] (44/200)". Qatar Digital Library. 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  5. ^ "Coll 20/10 'Muscat: S. W. Boundary of (Muscat-Aden): Spheres of Responsibility of the Air Authorities in Iraq and Aden' [22v] (44/200)". Qatar Digital Library. 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  6. ^ Yahya al-Sewari (5 July 2019), Yemen's Al-Mahra: From Isolation to the Eye of a Geopolitical Storm, Sana’a Centre for Strategic Studies, retrieved 30 March 2020
  7. ^ US DOS – Oman, retrieved 30 March 2020
  8. ^ US DOS – Oman, retrieved 30 March 2020
  9. ^ https://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/TREATIES/OMN-YEM1992IB.PDF[bare URL PDF]
  10. ^ US DOS – Oman, retrieved 30 March 2020
  11. ^ Controversial shift seen in Oman's role in Yemen, Arab Weekly, 30 September 2018, retrieved 7 April 2020
  12. ^ Daniel McLaughlin (2007) Bradt Travel Guide - Yemen, pgs. 45