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Hawar Islands separatist movement (Bahrain)

by Ivan Sache

Presentation of Hawar Islands
Description of the flag

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Presentation of Hawar Islands

Hawar Islands are located 24 km south-west of Bahrain island. The archipelago is made of 16 islets, representing a total land area of 38 sq. km. The islands are surrounded with coral reefs and shallows, and were in the past a major center of pearl diving. The population of the archipelago (c. 5,000 inhabitants) mostly concentrates into two fishers' villages.

Official claims on Hawar Islands by both Bahrain and Qatar started in 1935, after oil had been found in Bahrain in 1925. An armed conflict started in August 1937. In 1939, the British Resident in Manama, the capital city of Bahrain, ruled that Hawar Islands belonged to Bahrain. Qatar, however, resumed claims on the islands in 1960.
In June 1975, the Emir of Qatar denounced the 1939 agreement and attempted to purchase the islands. In April 1978, the Qatari cost guards prevented Bahraini fishers to enter the waters surrounding Hawar Islands. Bahrain answered with naval manoeuvres and was accusated by Qatar of violating its territorial waters.
On 26 April 1986, Qatari troops landed on the Fasht-el-Dibal islet and captured 29 Bahraini workers, who were liberated 13 days later. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council attempred to mediate between the two parties. As a result, Bahrain claimed the Zubara area, which had previously bel