The Kafia Kingi () area is a mineral-rich region on the border between

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of th ...

and the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

. It is disputed between South Sudan and Sudan. The area was due to be given to South Sudan under the terms of the 2005

Comprehensive Peace Agreement The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA, ar, اتفاقية السلام الشامل, Ittifāqiyyah al-salām al-šāmil), also known as the Naivasha Agreement, was an accord signed on January 9, 2005, by the Sudan People's Liberation Movem ...

which required use of the Sudan "north–south line" as of 1 January 1956. It was not until 1960 that the Kafia Kingi area was transferred north of that line and added to

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju ...

. Sudan controls all or most of this area today, though at times since independence South Sudan forces have briefly controlled large portions. Almost all of Kafia Kingi (except a southern portion south of the Umblasha River) is within the borders of the Sudanese Radom National Park, a

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, of which two-thirds are also within the borders of Kafia Kingi, while another one-third of the National Park is within the Sudanese region of

South Darfur South Darfur State ( ar, ولاية جنوب دارفور Wilāyat Ǧanūb Dārfūr; Janob Darfor) is one of the wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states that compose the region of Darfur in western Sudan. Overview Prior to the ...

. Warlord

Joseph Kony Joseph Rao Kony (likely born 1961) is a Ugandan militant who founded the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Christian fundamentalist organization, designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations Peacekeepers, the European Union and variou ...

is thought to be hiding in Kafia Kingi. The Kafia Kingi region is a known haven for ivory smugglers. Congolese ivory is frequently held in Kafia Kingi before being taken north into

References

{{reflist Populated places in South Darfur Populated places in Western Bahr el Ghazal Territorial disputes of South Sudan Territorial disputes of Sudan