West Darfur State ( Wilāyat Ḡarb Dārfūr), historically Dar Masalit (), is one of the
states of Sudan
Below is a list of the 18 states of the Sudan (Arabic names are in parentheses). Prior to 9 July 2011, the Republic of the Sudan was composed of 25 states. The ten southern states now form part of the independent country of South Sudan. Two ad ...
, and one of five comprising 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. Prior to the creation of two new states in January 2012, it had an area of 79,460 km² and an estimated population of approximately 1,775,945 in 2018. It borders
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
Central Darfur to the east. The
Chad
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
ian
prefectures
A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...
of
Biltine and
Ouaddaï lie to the west, while to the north is the prefecture of
Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti.
Al-Junaynah is the capital of the state. West Darfur has been the site of much of the
Darfur conflict.
During the
2023 Sudan conflict, ethnic violence has been rampant across the region.
This has included several
Masalit massacres.
Settlements
*
Beida
*
Foro Baranga
*
Geneina
*
Jebel Moon
*
Kreinik
*
Misterei
*
Kango Haraza
*
Shukri
*
Sirba
Notes
References
External links
State profile
States of Sudan
Darfur
{{Sudan-geo-stub