Umm Ruwaba, also Umm Ruwabah ( ar, أم روابة; Ruaba and Umm Ruaba), is a city in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

North Kurdufan North Kordofan ( ar, شمال كردفان, Šamāl Kurdufān) is one of the 18 wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 185,302 km2 and an estimated population of 2,920,890 (2008 census) (3,340,000 (2011 estimate)). El-Obeid is the c ...

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. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and is the capital of the Umm Ruwabah District. By road it is located southeast of

El Obeid El-Obeid ( ar, الأبيض, ''al-ʾAbyaḍ'', lit."the White"), also romanized as Al-Ubayyid, is the capital of the state of North Kurdufan, in Sudan. History and overview El-Obeid was founded by the pashas of Ottoman Egypt in 1821. It ...

, and west of

Rabak Rabak (ربك) is a city in south-eastern Sudan and the capital of the Sudanese state of White Nile. It is one of the major cities of Sudan, an industrial city in which are located several factories, such as the Nile Cement Company factory, the ...

. Founded by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1820, it is at the junction of important roads and camel caravan routes.

History

On 27 April 2013, the town was attacked by the

Sudanese Revolutionary Front The Sudan Revolutionary Front ( ar, الجبهة الثورية السودانية, translit=Al-Jabhat Al-Thawriyat Al-Sudan), or the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), is an alliance between Sudanese factions that was created in opposition to the ...

, a rebel alliance. The government was able to 'contain' the attack, but sparked local protests over lack of security in the region.

Geography

Umm Ruwaba lies in southern central Sudan in the semi-arid region of the

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...

. It has an average annual precipitation of 300 to 450

millimeters 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is between 1 meter to 1 millimeter. The millimetre (American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, ...

. Local aquifers are considered to be productive and are the source of water for many wells in the region. Water is typically extracted from depths of 300 to 400 ft, although some boreholes have been dug as far as 1000 ft. Geologically it lies in the Tertiary-Quaternary Umm Ruwaba Basin, composed mainly of fine-grained

lacustrine A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

and fluviatile sediments.

Economy

Lying in this part of the Sahel, Umm Ruwaba is prone to recurring periods of drought,

land degradation Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious ...

and famine. The famine of 1983–1985 had a severe impact on the area and caused food riots in the city. Its principal crops are millet and sorghum for home consumption, and sesame for sale in the local markets, and the city is an important storage area for many farmers in the district. The

Sudan Roads and Bridges Department 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. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

has been looking to improve road communications between the city and

Demographics and religion

The main ethnic groups in the city are Gawamma and Shanabla peoples. Traditionally it is an Islamic area, but a 1980 report documented that an anti-Islamic organisation had converted some 40 families in Umm Ruwaba from Islam to Christianity.

Notable people

Mamoun Beheiry Mamoun Ahmed Abdel Wahab Beheiry (October 1925 – August 2002) was a Sudanese economist, known for his contributions to African and Arab banking establishments. Education Following earlier education at Wad Madani primary schools, Beheiry a ...

, economist, first commissioner of the

Bank of Sudan The Central Bank of Sudan ( ar, بنك السودان المركزي) is the central bank of Sudan. The bank was formed in 1960, four years after Sudan's independence. It is located in the capital Khartoum. History When Sudan achieved independe ...

and first president of the

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies i ...

, (born October 1, 1925) * Talal Nayer, political cartoonist, painter, and filmmaker, (born January 13, 1983)

References

{{Authority control Populated places in North Kurdufan