North Darfur

North Darfur State
ولاية شمال دارفور
Shamal Darfor
State
Farmer irrigating crops in North Darfur
Flag
Seal
Location in Sudan.
Coordinates: 16°4′N 25°28′E / 16.067°N 25.467°E / 16.067; 25.467
Country Sudan
RegionDarfur
CapitalAl-Fashir
Government
 • GovernorAl-Hafiz Bakhit Mohammed (acting)[2]
Area
 • Total
296,420 km2 (114,450 sq mi)
Population
 (2018)
 • Total
2,304,950[1]
 • Density5.34/km2 (13.8/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT)
ISO 3166 codeSD-DN
HDI (2017)0.491[3]
low

North Darfur State (Arabic: ولاية شمال دارفور Wilāyat Šamāl Dārfūr; Shamal Darfor) is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states composing the Darfur region. It has an area of 296,420 km2 and an estimated population of approximately 2,304,950 in 2018. Al-Fashir is the capital of the state. Other significant towns include Ailliet,[4][5] Kebkabiya,[6][7] Kutum, Mellit (Malit),[7][8] Tawila,[9] Saraf Omra[10] and Umm Keddada (Umm Kadadah).[7][11]

History

North Darfur shares much of the history of Darfur. It was the center of the Sultanate of Darfur and contained both its capital al-Fashir and its biggest trading city Kobbei.

Former lieutenant general, Armed Forces Chief of Staff, and defense minister Ibrahim Suleiman Hassan served as governor of North Darfur from April 2001 to May 2003, until being dismissed by President Omar al-Bashir.[12][13]

North Darfur has been a major flashpoint during the ongoing civil war.[14] Reports indicate that tens of thousands of people were killed in the El Fasher massacre in late October 2025, perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after they captured Al-Fashir, the last Sudanese Armed Forces stronghold in Darfur.[15]

Geography

North Darfur occupies more than half of the territory of the Darfur region, and includes part of the Marrah Mountains (Jebel Marra). The northern part is entirely desert. To the south there is slightly more rainfall with the eastern side being plains with low sandy hills, while the volcanic Marrah Mountains occupy most of the western side of the south. In the southern portion the most important crops are millet, maize and peanuts.[7]

North Darfur is bounded on the northwest by Libya, on the north by Northern State, on the east by Northern State and North Kurdufan, on the southeast by South Kurdufan, on the south by South Darfur, and on the west by West Darfur and the Republic of Chad. Most of North Darfur's population follow Sunni Islam.

Governors

Name Period References
Ibrahim Suleiman Hassan April 2001 – May 2003 [12][13]
Osman Kebir May 2003 – June 2015 [16][17]
Abdel-Wahid Youssef June 2015 – April/May 2018 [17][18][19]
Al-Sharief Mohamed Abad May 2018 – 22 February 2019 [19][20]
Al Naeem Khidir Mursal 22 February 2019 – at least to March 2019 [20][21]
Malik al-Tayeb Khojali at least from May 2019 – Late July 2020 [22][23]
Mohamed Hassan Arabi at least from September 2020 – 13 June 2021 [24][25]
Nimir Mohammed Abdelrahman 13 June 2021 – 1 January 2024 [25][26]
Al-Hafiz Bakhit Mohammed (acting) at least from February 2024- [2][27]

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ a b "North Darfur governor accuses RSF of killing 28 civilians in El Fasher attack". Sudan Tribune. 12 August 2024. Archived from the original on 14 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  4. ^ In Arabic كتم
  5. ^ "Ailliet, Sudan" Maplandia.com
  6. ^ In Arabic كبكابية
  7. ^ a b c d "ولاية شمال دارفور (The state of North Darfur)" Archived 7 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine Sudanese Government site, in Arabic, accessed 9 September 2010
  8. ^ In Arabic مليط
  9. ^ "Tawilah, Sudan" Maplandia.com
  10. ^ "Report on Airstrike by Sudanese Armed Forces in Saraf Omra, North Darfur State – El Fasher". alsudania news السودانية نيوز (in Arabic). 15 November 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  11. ^ In Arabic أم كدادة،
  12. ^ a b Anderson, Scott (17 October 2004). "How Did Darfur Happen?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017.
  13. ^ a b Nolen, Stephanie (17 August 2007). "Sudan pays for ignoring prophet". Sudan Tribune. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  14. ^ Nashed, Mat. "Darfur on edge as violence spreads amid Sudan power struggle". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  15. ^ Townsend, Mark (5 December 2025). "RSF massacres left Sudanese city 'a slaughterhouse', satellite images show". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
  16. ^ "Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan". www.sudantribune.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  17. ^ a b "Demands for more protection to North Darfur's new governor". Dabanga Sudan. 15 June 2015. Archived from the original on 17 September 2025.
  18. ^ "N. Darfur governor criticises UNAMID delay of stabilisation plan". Sudan Tribune. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  19. ^ a b "U.S. calls on Sudan to adopt new approach to achieve peace in Darfur". Sudan Tribune. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  20. ^ a b "State of Emergency declared in Sudan – President Al Bashir dissolves govt". Radio Dabanga. 23 February 2019. Archived from the original on 30 January 2026.
  21. ^ "رجال حول البشير في لحظة السقوط… خريطة النفوذ التي حكمت السودان - اخبار السودان" (in Arabic). 10 March 2026. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  22. ^ "Sudan: Governor of North Darfur Emphasizes Stability of Security Situations". AllAfrica. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  23. ^ "Banditry across Darfur leaves seven dead, three women raped". Dabanga Sudan. 27 July 2020. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024.
  24. ^ "Sudan: Arabi Briefs Cabinet On Working Plan for Next Stage in North Darfur". AllAfrica. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  25. ^ a b "Sudan's prime minister appoints 3 state governors in Darfur, Blue Nile". Sudan Tribune. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  26. ^ SudanTribune (11 January 2024). "Dismissed North Darfur Governor unveils reasons for his ouster". Sudan Tribune. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  27. ^ "North Darfur governor launches popular resistance in El Fasher". Radio Tamazuj. 19 February 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.