:
Kurmuk is a town in south-eastern
Sudan near the
border with Ethiopia. Kurmuk is inhabited by the
Uduk and
Berta people
The Berta (Bertha) or Funj are an ethnic group living along the border of Sudan and Ethiopia. They speak a Nilo-Saharan language that is not related to those of their Nilo-Saharan neighbors ( Gumuz, Uduk). Their total Ethiopian population is ab ...
s.
Kurmuk is the administrative center for most of Gindi District, Kolnugura district, Borfa District, Jammus Omm District, Chali District, Penawayu District, Bee District, Balila District and
Yabus who find better medical services in Kurmuk. Lt. General and Governor
Malik Agar
Malik Agar is a Sudanese politician and insurgent leader active in the insurgency in Blue Nile state.
Second Sudanese Civil War
Agar joined the Sudanese armed opposition shortly after the beginning of the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983.
...
currently names Kurmuk the capital city of
Southern Blue Nile. Malik Agar is the former SPLM commander who is currently the governor of
Blue Nile
The Blue Nile (; ) is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the water ...
state.
The population of Kurmuk includes a number of Muslim and Christian Communities. Many of the
Uduk people The Uduk are a Nilo-Saharan group from eastern 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. ...
have converted to Christianity. Other ethnic groups include the Igansina, Jumum and Mufuwu in Kurmuk.
History
In January 1932, Sudanese and Ethiopian officials met at Kurmuk to resolve problems caused by Ethiopian slavers preying on villages in Sudan. In July 1940 during the
East African Campaign the town was occupied by advancing Italian troops.
Due to the numerous ethnic groups living in and around Kurmuk, many of whom feel marginalized by the
Islamic tendencies of the central government, the city has been a political hotspot since rebellion against the Islamic regime in 1983.
Due to lack of
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...
in Kurmuk County particularly, the Minister/Advisory of the Governor Major General Steven Amath Dicko convened with his Kurmukians in November 2008 in an attempt to tax citizens as means to generate revenues to bring primary schools and secondary educations to every district of the Kwanim Pa. To alleviate this deficiency,
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible f ...
built the Granville-Abbas Girls' Secondary School in Kurmuk, which was opened 8 March 2010. The school was named for an American diplomat and his Sudanese colleague who were both assassinated in Khartoum on January 1, 2008.
"U.S. Government and Blue Nile State Government Dedicate Granville-Abbas Girls' Secondary School, Kurmuk"
, USAID website (accessed 19 December 2010)
Climate
Kurmuk has a tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...
(Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
''Aw'') with average rainfall reaches 933 mm
See also
* List of cities and towns in Sudan
Notes
{{Coord, 10, 33, N, 34, 17, E, region:SD_type:city, display=title
Populated places in Blue Nile (state)
Ethiopia–Sudan border crossings