The decades-long Chagos islands dispute has finally entered a new chapter. The UK officially agreed to return the sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius.
The Indian Ocean islands are strategically situated near key shipping lanes and regional power hubs.
Mauritius was granted independence from British colonial rule in 1965. But not the Chagos islands, which had been part of Mauritius but became a new colonial territory. The residents of the largest island in the archipelago, Diego Garcia, were forced off the land. This was used as a base to support US military operations.
