Aweil is a city located in

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

. It is the capital of

Northern Bahr el Ghazal Northern Bahr el Ghazal (Arabic: ولاية شمال بحر الغزال) is a States of South Sudan, state in South Sudan. It has an area of 30,543 km2 and is part of the Bahr el Ghazal (region of South Sudan), Bahr el Ghazal region. It b ...

state and the administrative centre of

Aweil Center County Aweil Center County is an administrative area in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiop ...

. It is also a service centre for the surrounding villages. Refugees, war displaced returnees, nomadic cattle keepers and local families moving seasonally with their animals to source water give Aweil a mobile population.

History

Aweil is an area which was affected by the

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

in the 19th century and by

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

in the 20th century. It was the capital of

Aweil State Aweil State was a state in South Sudan that existed between 2 October 2015 and 22 February 2020. It was located in the Bahr el Ghazal region and it borders Gogrial to the east, Lol to the west, Aweil East to the north, and Wau to the south. Its ...

, a government area which existed between 2000 and 2020.

Geography

The town lies in the northwest of South Sudan on the A43. It is approximately 100 km south of the international border with the

Republic of Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. The disputed region of

Abyei The Abyei Area () is an area of on the border between South Sudan and Sudan that has been accorded "special administrative status" by the 2004 Protocol on the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict (Abyei Protocol) in the Comprehensive Peace Agree ...

is to the East.

Juba Juba is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria, Central Equatoria State. It is the most recently declared national capital and had a populatio ...

, the capital of South Sudan, is approximately 637 km to the South. The nearest larger town is Wau. There are several villages near to Aweil, some on the A43 and others in the countryside.

Ashana Game Reserve The Ashana Game Reserve is a protected area in South Sudan, Africa. It is both a game reserve and an Important Bird Area. The savannah woodland habitat features key species of elephant and giant eland The giant eland (''Taurotragus derbianus ...

is approximately 30 km to the west. The topography is flat and prone to flooding. However, at an elevation of 425 m (1,394 ft) Aweil is on higher ground than the surrounding plains. The city lies close to the confluence of 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 Nyaml ...

with the Pongo River. The average elevation of the city of Aweil is about above sea level.

Climate

Aweil is located in 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 ...

(classification Aw) with, usually, a dry winter. Summer can also be dry despite Aweil being in the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

. The dry weather can develop to

drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

. The district's mean annual high temperature is 30.39 °C (86.7 °F) . The mean annual low temperature is 23.2 °C (74.52 °F). Aweil's average annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

is 95.08 mm (3.74 in). The average number of rain days per year is 125.39. Aweil had flooding rain in 2019. In 2020, drought weather in July was followed by high rainfall in August which interrupted crop production.

Demographics

In November 2008,

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), known in some English-speaking settings as Doctors Without Borders, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zo ...

estimated the town's population at about 100,000, but there is no verified population figure. In 2024, the population was estimated to be 38,745. The two main ethnic groups are

Dinka The Dinka people () are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Mangalla-Bor to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out of three provinces that were formerly part of southern ...

and

Luwo The Luo are a Nilotic peoples, Nilotic ethnic group that live in Western Bhar Gazal, South Sudan. They are part of a larger group of ethno-linguistically related Luo peoples, Luo people of East Africa. They speak the Jur language, Luo language T ...

. A majority of voters support the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

language is used in Aweil in some households and public places but not widely.

Economy

Aweil is a service town to farming villages. Products from agriculture include cattle,

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

, ground nuts and

sesame Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...

. There are nearby rivers for fishing. Farming in a difficult environment has led to

food insecurity Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Similarly, househo ...

. Economic development projects near Aweil include a

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

plantation, a rice plantation and a women's market.

Infrastructure and services

Transport

The

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

- Aweil -

Wau, South Sudan Wau (; also known as Wow, Waw, or Wau Town) is a town, locally referred to as a city, in northwestern South Sudan on the western bank of Jur River. It is the capital of Western Bahr el Ghazal region in South Sudan. It lies approximately northw ...

railway line was constructed in 1961. After a period of disuse due to civil war damage, the line from Aweil to Wau and the station were restored to use in 2010. Aweil airstrip is located 4.4 km (2.4 nm) northwest of Aweil's city center. There is a packed dirt runway of about 2000 m (6600 ft) in length. Its

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

name is HSAW. Confirmation of the airport's condition is needed prior to any approach. Four accidents at the airstrip have occurred since 1973. Three of the four involved military aircraft. Two of these were attributed to attacks by surface to air missiles. In 2024, the airstrip is used by Badr Airlines transporting non-government organisation passengers and cargo to and from Aweil and Juba each Monday. In the town, transport options include taxis,

boda boda Boda bodas are bicycles and motorcycle taxis commonly found in East Africa. While motorcycle taxis like boda bodas are present throughout Africa and beyond, the term ''boda boda'' is specific to East Africa. In Kenya, they are more frequently ca ...

s (motorcycle taxis).

Education

The St. Mary's Girls Secondary School is owned and administered by the Aweil Diocese of the

Episcopal Church of the Sudan The Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, formerly known as the Episcopal Church of Sudan, is a province of the Anglican Communion located in South Sudan. The province consists of eight Internal Provinces (each led by an archbishop) and ...

(ECS)

Health

Aweil Civil Hospital is a referral hospital, one of the three in South Sudan.

Culture and religion

Peace and unity

In April 2023, Northern Bahr El Ghazal's State Ministry of Culture with support from the

United Nations Mission in South Sudan The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission for South Sudan, which became independent on 9 July 2011. UNMISS was established on 8 July 2011 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1996 (20 ...

(UNMISS) held a peace celebration in Aweil. The theme of the festival was "Unity in diversity" reflecting Aweil (and South Sudan's) ethnic diversity. In August 2024, national culture day was celebrated at the Dr. John Garang Mausoleum with the theme, "Our Culture, Our Coexistence". The Aweil News Agency covered the event in depth with video footage at the agency's Facebook page.

Religion

The

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

is present in Aweil at St. George's church.

Sports

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

(soccer) is a popular sport in Aweil. The Aweil Stars FC and opponents play at the Aweil sportsground. Fans follow their favourite Spanish teams such as

Real Madrid CF Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

Non-government organisations

Pan Aweil Development Agency (PADA) was founded in 2009 and recognised by the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in 2010. The founder is William Kolong Pioth, one of the

Lost Boys of Sudan The Lost Boys of Sudan refers to a group of over 20,000 boys of the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups who were displaced or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005). Two million were killed and others were severely affected by the ...

. The agency supports small scale local business ventures in key areas such as agriculture, water sanitation and community development. It also fosters peaceful conflict resolution in the nearby border regions. The

(UNMISS) maintains a presence in Aweil. During the war of independence of South Sudan which brings episodes of famine, on December 21, 1989, an Aviation Sans Frontières and

plane was shot down in Aweil. On board were three French nationals, Yvon Féliot, a pilot for Aviation Without Borders, Jean-Paul Bescond, a doctor, and Laurent Fernet, a logistician, both working for

Doctors Without Borders Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

(MSF) as well as Frazer Ariyamba, a technician for the

World Food Programme The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...

(WFP).

Notable people

Valentino Achak Deng ''What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng'' is a 2006 novel written by Dave Eggers. It is based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese child refugee who immigrated to the United States under the Lost Boys of Sudan pro ...

* Madut Aluk *

Paul Malong Awan Paul Malong Awan (born 1962), also known as Paul Malong Awan Anei, King Paul, and General Paul, is a South Sudanese politician and military figure. Until 16 May 2017 he was the Chief of General Staffs (COGS) of the Sudan People’s Liberation Ar ...

* Benjamin Bol Mel * James Alic Garang

References

External links

*
Aweil News Agency Facebook page

Pan Aweil Development Agency
{{Coord, 08, 46, 48, N, 27, 24, 00, E, display=title, region:SD_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki State capitals in South Sudan Populated places in Northern Bahr el Ghazal Aweil Centre County