Melut is a community in the
Upper Nile state of
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 the ...
, headquarters of
Melut County
Melut County is an administrative area in the Upper Nile State.
Location
Melut County is bordered by Manyo County across the Nile in the west, Maaban County in the east, Baliet County in the south and Renk County in the north, all in Upper Nile ...
.
Location
The town is on the east bank of the
White Nile
The White Nile ( ar, النيل الأبيض ') is a river in Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the other being the Blue Nile. The name comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale colo ...
, just below the point where the
Adar River
The Adar River (or Khor Adar), known to the Dinka as the Yal, is a tributary of the White Nile in the state of Upper Nile, South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thud ...
enters the Nile.
[
The region is one of wide, flat and low lying plains with black cotton soils, covered by Savannah grasslands and acacia trees.
The River Nile and its small seasonal tributaries are the main sources of drinking water, fishing grounds and water for cattle, particularly in the dry season.
The river Nile is also the main transportation route.
The largest communities in the county are ]Dinka
The Dinka people ( din, Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ) are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a sizable diaspora population abroad. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Jonglei to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out of ...
, Shilluk, Burun, Fur
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket ...
, Nubian and Nuer people. Most people relay on
agro-pastoralism for a living, and engage in small scale trading.
Melut gives its name to the Melut Basin
The Melut Basin is a rift basin in South Sudan, extending into Ethiopia, where it is called the Gambella basin. Melut is situated in the Upper Nile and Jonglei, south of the capital of Sudan, Khartoum and east of the river Nile. Some parts of t ...
.
Chevron discovered a major oil field in this basin in 1981.
Facilities
Gideon Theological College was jointly founded by the Sudan Interior Church (SIC) and the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) in 1976 but is run as an inter-denominational school. The College moved north to Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
in 1988 due to heavy fighting in the area Second Sudanese Civil War
The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originat ...
(1983-2005) and then moved back to Melut in 2007.
The compound had been used and misused by the army during the war and required extensive rebuilding.
In November 2007 Medair moved its Primary Health Care Center at Melut into a new building. Until then the Center, the only source of health care in the town, had been operating out of tents.
Security
On 10 November 2010, the Sudan Armed Forces
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF; ar, القوات المسلحة السودانية, Al-Quwwat al-Musallaha as-Sudaniyah) are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. In 2011, IISS estimated the regular forces' numbers at personnel, whi ...
(SAF) component of the Joint Integrated Units opened fire on positions of the Sudan People's Liberation Army
The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the army of the Republic of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a ...
(SPLA) component and the United Nations Mission in Sudan
The United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) was established by the UN Security Council under Resolution 1590 of 24 March 2005, in response to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government of the Sudan and the Sud ...
(UNMIS) in Melut, killing a teenage girl and wounding others. SAF attributed this violation of the ceasefire to drunken soldiers. To avoid any risk of escalation, the SPLA did not respond.
References
{{Reflist
Populated places in Upper Nile (state)
Populated places on the Nile