Bahr al-Arab ( ar, بحر العرب; also called the Kiir River) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

which flows approximately through the southwest of Sudan and marks part of its international border with

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 ...

. It is part of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

river system, being a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

Bahr el Ghazal Bahr el-Ghazal (Arabic بحر الغزال , also transliterated ''Bahr al-Ghazal'', ''Baḩr al-Ghazāl'', ''Bahr el-Gazel'', or versions of these without the hyphen) may refer to two distinct places, both named after ephemeral or dry rivers. Chad ...

, which is a tributary of the White Nile. The river flows through Sudan's

Kurdufan Kordofan ( ar, كردفان ') is a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kordofan, South Kordofan and West Kordofan. In August 2005, West Kordofan State was abolished and its territory ...

and Darfur regions and forms part of the border between Darfur and the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in northwestern South Sudan. For centuries the Bahr al-Arab has marked the boundary between the

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 ...

and

Baggara The Baggāra ( ar, البَقَّارَة "heifer herder") or Chadian Arabs are a nomadic confederation of people of mixed Arab and Arabized indigenous African ancestry, inhabiting a portion of the Sahel mainly between Lake Chad and the Nile ri ...

ethnic groups. The river has served as a frontier and zone of conflict between the Baggara and Dinka peoples since their oral traditions began.

Etymology

The name "Bahr al-Arab" is

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

for "Sea of the Arabs" (possibly from "Nahr al-Arab", Arabic for "River of the Arabs"). The

people call it the "Kiir River".

Course

The Bahr al-Arab arises from several tributaries that drain the Bongo Massif and

Marrah Mountains The Marrah Mountains or Marra Mountains ( Fur, Fugo Marra; ar, جبل مرة, Jebel Marra are a range of volcanic peaks in a massif that rises up to . They are the highest mountains in Sudan. Geography The mountains are located in the center of ...

in Darfur, close to Sudan's border with Chad and the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

. The Adda and Umbelasha flow east from the Bongo Massif to join the Ibrah (Wadi Ibra), which flows south from the Marrah Mountains. Formed from these tributaries, the Bahr al-Arab flows east along the border of the Darfur and

regions, then through a southern part of the

region. According to some sources, the Bahr al-Arab's confluence with the

Jur River The Jur River (also Sue River) is a river in western South Sudan, flowing through the Bahr el Ghazal and Equatoria regions. About long, it flows north and northeast, joining the Bahr el Ghazal River on the western side of the Sudd wetlands. Th ...

marks the source of the

Bahr el Ghazal River The Bahr el Ghazal (; also spelled Bahr al Ghazal and Baḩr al Ghazāl) is a river in South Sudan. The South Sudanese region of Bahr el Ghazal takes its name from the river. The Bahr el Ghazal is the main western tributary of the Nile. It is ...

. Other sources say the Jur joins the Bahr el Ghazal before the Bahr al-Arab does. The Bahr el Ghazal flows a short distance east to join the White Nile in the Sudd wetlands. The

Lol River The Lol River, or Loll River, is a stream in northern South Sudan that feeds the Bahr al-Arab, known locally as the Kiir River. Course The Lol River forms at the convergence of the Chel or Kuru River and the Magadhik River just west of Nyamle ...

joins the Bahr al-Arab from the south, just above the Jur River confluence. The Bahr al-Arab has the largest drainage basin of any river in the

region. But compared to the rivers to the south, the Bahr al-Arab has very little water and it flows sluggishly.

History

During the

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 originated ...

Bahr al-Arab's location on the border of Northern and

Southern 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 Con ...

made it a military front and an area of conflict. In the early 1980s western Sudan suffered several droughts and crop failures. As various peoples shifted southward the

moved south of the Bahr al-Arab and came into conflict with the

. The Baggara were supported by the Sudanese military in an attempt to make headway against the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). The Baggara militias, known as ''murahileen'', battled the SPLA throughout the 1980s. By the end of the decade the land along the Bahr al-Arab was devastated and the population decimated.; online a
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References

External links

‘Arab, Baḩr al

GEOnet Names Server The GEOnet Names Server (GNS), sometimes also referred to in official documentation as Geographic Names Data or geonames in domain and email addresses, is a service that provides access to the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency ...

{{Coord, 9, 2, N, 29, 28, E, display=title Rivers of Sudan Bahr el Ghazal Nile basin Darfur Kurdufan South Sudan–Sudan border International rivers of Africa

Etymology

Course

History

See also

References

External links