Al-Fashir or El Fasher () is the capital city of

North Darfur North Darfur State ( 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 approximat ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. It is a city in the

Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...

region of southwestern Sudan, northeast of

Nyala, Sudan Nyala ( Daju: "the place of chatting") is a city and the capital of the state of South Darfur in the south-west of Sudan, with an estimated population of 1,100,000 in 2024. History Nyala was the capital of the Daju Empire, which was established ...

.
"Al-Fashir" (description)
''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'', 2007, webpage: A historical

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...

post, Al-Fashir is located at an elevation of about . The city serves as an

agricultural marketing Agricultural marketing covers the services involved in moving an agricultural product from the farm to the consumer. These services involve the planning, organizing, directing and handling of agricultural produce in such a way as to satisfy farm ...

point for the cereals and fruits grown in the surrounding region. Al-Fashir is linked by road with both

Geneina Geneina (sometimes Al-Junaynah or ElGeneina; , lit. ''the little garden'') is a city in West Darfur, part of the dar Masalit region, in Sudan. It joined British Sudan at the end of 1919 through the Gilani Agreement, signed between the Masalit ...

and

Umm Keddada Umm Keddada () is a city in North Darfur, Sudan located 700 km west of Khartoum, the capital of the country.

. Al-Fashir had 264,734 residents , an increase from 2001, when the population was estimated to be 178,500.

UN Habitat The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It was established in 1977 as an outcome of the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlem ...

reported a population of 500,000 for al-Fashir in 2009, attributing the increase to refugees and economic migrants.

Al Fashir University Al Fashir University is a public university in al-Fashir, the capital city of North Darfur, Sudan. Foundation The university was created in 1990 by decree of President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir, and was officially opened in February 1991 in prem ...

was created in 1990 by decree of President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir, and was officially opened in February 1991 in premises west of

El Fasher Airport El Fasher Airport , also known as Al Fashir Airport, is an airport serving El Fasher (Al Fashir), the capital city of the North Darfur state in Sudan. United Nations peacekeeping force UNAMID uses a special terminal at El Fasher Airport for tr ...

and south of the El Fashir School.

History

Late in the 18th century, Sultan Abd-er-Rahman el-Rashid of the

Sultanate of Darfur The Sultanate of Darfur () was a pre-colonial state in present-day Sudan. It existed from the 17th century to 24 October 1874, when it fell to the Sudanese warlord Al-Zubayr Rahma Mansur, and was reestablished again from 1898 to 1916, until it ...

moved his itinerant court (''fashir'') to a site called Rahad Tendelti while campaigning in the region of northern Darfur as it was a superb spot for a settlement and grazing; eventually the site was renamed to al-Fashir. A town developed around the sultan's palace grounds. AlFashir-Darfur-Sudan

Fighting known as the

Battle of El Fasher The siege of El Fasher is an ongoing battle for control of the town of El Fasher in North Darfur during the Sudan conflict. The first battle for the city took place between 15 and 20 April 2023, and resulted in a ceasefire that held until 12 ...

commenced in April 2023.

Geography

Climate

Al-Fashir has a

hot arid climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

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''BWh'') with three distinct seasons. There is a bone-dry and relatively "cool" season from October to February when temperatures are merely hot by afternoon and cool in the mornings, which gives way to a sweltering and equally arid "hot season" from March to May with high temperatures around and morning lows of . The

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

ian

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

arrives in June and lasts until September, creating a short

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

that produces virtually all the year's rainfall of around , accompanied by much higher humidity than during the remainder of the year.

Economy

Due to the nearby

Abu Shouk Abu or ABU may refer to: Aviation * Airman Battle Uniform, a utility uniform of the United States Air Force * IATA airport code for A. A. Bere Tallo Airport in Atambua, Province of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia People * Abu (Arabic term), a kun ...

and Al Salam IDP camps with the influx of humanitarian aid from the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

as a result of the

Darfur crisis The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, was a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups b ...

, the city has experienced a significant economic and population boom. Rents and retail sales increased, including the selling of

bottled water Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., Water well, well water, distilled water, Reverse osmosis, reverse osmosis water, mineral water, or Spring (hydrology), spring water) packaged in Plastic bottle, plastic or Glass bottle, glass water bott ...

and the opening of a pizza parlor to cater to the demand from western aid workers. The number of gas stations has tripled in three years as a result of the increase in the amount of automobiles in the city. Employment opportunities also increased as the United Nations offered jobs to citizens. Economics analyst Adam Ahmed stated that the "people f Al-Fashirare beginning to think in a more business-minded way" to make the most of their situation.Sanders, Edmund
A Darfur capital is a humanitarian boomtown
''Los Angeles Times'', 2008-04-30.

Notes

References

External links

Historical weather for Al-Fashir
{{Authority control Fashir State capitals in Sudan Capitals of former nations