Egyptians outraged at plan to transfer Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz attends the final session of the South American-Arab Countries summit, in Riyadh November 11, 2015. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's announcement during a five-day visit by King Salman that it would transfer two Red Sea islands to its Saudi ally has outraged Egyptians, who took to social media to criticise the move, which now faces a legal challenge.

The Egyptian government said in a statement on Saturday that the two countries had signed maritime demarcation accords that put the islands of Tiran and Sanafir in Saudi waters, a process it said had taken six years.