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.
"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

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

History

Late in the 18th century, Sultan Abd-er-Rahman el-Rashid of the Sultanate of Darfur 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 commenced in April 2023.

Geography

Climate

Al-Fashir has a hot arid climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

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

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as a result of the Darfur crisis, 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