World Court sides with E Guinea in Gabon island dispute

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The United Nation's top court has sided with Equatorial Guinea in a row with Gabon over three islands in potentially oil-rich waters.

The two Central African countries have been arguing over the isles - Conga, Mbanié and Cocoteros - since the early 1970s.

The islands are virtually uninhabited but are in a maritime zone thought to contain significant amounts of hydrocarbons.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Equatorial Guinea's claim - based on a 1900 treaty dividing up French and Spanish colonial assets - should be honoured.

Gabon had argued that a more recent treaty - the 1974 Bata Convention - switched the islands' sovereignty in its favour.

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