Khartoum, Sudan

Khartoum is the capital of the Republic of Sudan. It is the country's second-largest city in terms of population, and is also the center of government and capital of Khartoum Province. The name Khartoum means "elephant's trunk," which is perhaps a reference to the city's once-thriving ivory trade. Khartoum was originally founded during the Egyptian occupation of 1821 as a prime location for defense and trade because of its location on the Nile River.

Landscape

Khartoum is an inland city and is the capital city of Sudan. It is located at the point of convergence of the Blue and White Nile rivers, which form the Nile River that flows north through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. Because of this unique geography, three sections of Khartoum developed relatively separately. Omdurman, on the left bank of the river, maintained an old-fashioned, village-like feel, while Khartoum North and Khartoum developed as more modern cities. The three sections were not unified until 1928 when the construction of several bridges was completed. Unlike the rest of the country, Khartoum has several paved roads and some railroads that link it to Egypt and other African countries.

Though Khartoum is situated on the Nile, it also borders the Sahara desert and generally receives significant rain only during July and August when the average rainfall is between 100 and 200 millimeters (4 and 8 inches). The average temperature in the city is 23 degrees Celsius (74 degrees Fahrenheit) in January and 32 degrees Celsius (89 degrees Fahrenheit) in July.

People

Khartoum has a relatively small Arab population in comparison to the rest of Sudan. Also, because of Coptic missionaries entering the country from Egypt, Khartoum is home to most of the minority Christians in Sudan; Arab and black Sunni Muslims populate the rest of the country. There are two official languages: Arabic and English. Other languages spoken in Khartoum include Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, and Fur.

According to the US Central Intelligence Agency, the 2023 population of Khartoum is approximately 6.344 million, which includes the individuals displaced from the southern war zone as well as those from drought-affected areas in both the western and eastern regions of the country. The city's population has grown rapidly since the 1970s, with refugees from Chad, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Eritrea settling on the outskirts of the city after fleeing from conflicts in their own countries. According to a 2008 survey published by the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, there were over 240,000 Eritrean refugees in Sudan in 2007. Refugees from Chad and Ethiopia accounted for 45,000 and over 19,000, respectively. Many of these refugees settle in Khartoum.

Economy

During the Egyptian occupation in the early 1800s, Khartoum was the center of the African ivory trade; elephants tended to live near the banks of the White Nile and the Blue Nile, making the city a prime location for hunting. European and Egyptian companies competed for control of the ivory trade, and the elephant population was quickly depleted. Eventually, traders in Khartoum resorted to killing and robbing the local tribes to maintain their lucrative trading practices.

During the 1970s, Omdurman was known for craft manufacturing by natives, who made furniture, beds, glassware, pottery, and metal ware. Khartoum North has historically been the site of more modern industry, including ship repair facilities, factories, a brewery, and the Sudanese mint. In 1972, arrangements began for an oil pipeline connecting Khartoum to Port Sudan; it was completed in 1977. Khartoum hosts one of the country's largest oil refineries. Sudan has been exporting crude oil since 1999, and oil is one of the country's main exports, although agriculture production employs 80 percent of the Sudanese workforce, according to the CIA. In an effort to further diversify Sudan's economy after South Sudan's independence, a large gold refinery was opened in the capital in 2012.

The city has a bustling manufacturing industry, including cotton textiles, knitwear, and glass. The city also has printing and food processing industries. Products are traded with other regions through trade routes, including rail lines to Egypt, Port Sudan, and Al-Ubayyid. The al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum was formerly one of the cornerstones of the Sudanese economy. In the wake of US embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, the United States destroyed the factory with cruise missiles, claiming a link between the factory and the al-Qaeda terrorist network. It was later discovered that no such link existed. Despite US sanctions, the New York Times reported in October 2006 that Sudan had the fastest-growing economy in the world at that time. While many of the sanctions were ultimately lifted in 2017, the country's economy continued to struggle against rising inflation and an inability to restore international relations. A military coup in 2021 and ongoing civil war have further eroded interest in international investment.

Landmarks

Many of the best-known landmarks in Khartoum are in the colonial downtown area. The Ethnographic Museum houses a collection of artifacts of Sudanese village life, such as musical instruments, clothing, and cooking and hunting implements. The National Museum is devoted to the country's history.

The al-Kabir Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque, is located in Souk Arabi, the central area of Khartoum. The mosque is a popular and interesting stop for people visiting Khartoum. The simple, spare building, which is the center of worship for the city, is made of sandstone, and sits next to the city's bus station. Because of the diverse religious population in the city, there are also Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Coptic cathedrals, as well as Greek and Maronite churches.

Other sites of interest include the Republican Palace, the University of Khartoum, al-Neelain University, and the Sudan University of Science and Technology. Khartoum is also home to the country's international airport, where Sudan Air operates international and domestic flights. Due to ongoing civil and international tensions, the US Department of State has advised against any unofficial travel to Sudan since 2007.

History

Khartoum was founded in 1821 as the capital of Egyptian-controlled Sudan. Egypt controlled the Sudanese government for sixty years; its primary purpose was to obtain slaves and drudge soldiers for its African armies. Khartoum was a crucial locus for this purpose; each year the Egyptian government in Khartoum sent troops to the surrounding areas to capture slaves. Eventually, the locals tired of this treatment, and they revolted in 1881.

The rebellion did not last long, however, as England soon moved in and appropriated Egypt's government in 1882. During this turbulent takeover, there was an Islamic revival among the followers of Muhammad Ahmad who had proclaimed himself Mahid, or savior, of the Muslims. It was soon evident that his followers, the Mahdists, were a powerful force in Khartoum. In 1885, the British government sent General Charles Gordon to the city to monitor the transfer of power from the Egyptians to the Mahdists. Gordon's clumsy handling of the power transfer upset the Mahdists, causing them to attack the city and kill him. The Mahdists eventually built their own government, which lasted until 1898 even though Ahmad died following the coup.

In the wake of the Gordon debacle, French armies began marching toward Khartoum. The British prevented the French invasion of Sudan and proceeded to launch their own invasion, eventually subduing the Mahdists and annexing Sudan in the Battle of Omdurman in 1898. Some 20,000 Sudanese were killed in the process. From 1899 until 1955 the British and the Egyptians ruled Sudan together as Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Eventually Sudanese nationalists called for independence, which the country achieved on January 1, 1956.

From 1955 to 1972 a civil war between the Khartoum-based government and the southern rebels known as Anya Nya (or Anyanya) occurred. The group resolved its dispute with the government in 1972, but this agreement collapsed in 1982, sparking the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983. Over the next two decades, it is estimated that more than two million deaths occurred as a result of the conflict, and over four million people were displaced. A final peace accord was signed in 2005, which granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years. In January 2011, a referendum was held that indicated support for South Sudan independence, which was achieved on July 9, 2011, when South Sudan became an independent state.

The Palestinian group Black September took ten diplomats hostage in Khartoum's Saudi embassy in 1973. During the takeover, the group killed US Ambassador to Sudan Cleo Noel, US Deputy Chief of Mission to Sudan George Curtis Moore, and Belgian diplomat Guy Eid. Other hostages involved in the incident were released and the eight Black September gunmen eventually surrendered. Three were convicted and jailed, two were released on insufficient evidence, and three disappeared and were never prosecuted.

Beginning in 1989, the military junta run by the National Congress Party (NCP), which was formerly known as the National Islamic Front (NIF), ruled Sudan. The country has experienced internal and external strife, including the brutal conflict in the western Darfur region, which had killed hundreds of thousands of people by 2019. When the violence in Darfur escalated in 2003, Khartoum sent Arab militias into the region to subdue the agriculturists, killing tens of thousands of people within a year. The conflict has also negatively impacted the work of nonprofit organizations in the region, resulting in an increase in disease.

President Omar Hassan al-Bashir was suspicious of efforts by the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) to intervene in Sudan's internal conflicts, particularly the civil war in the Darfur region. Al-Bashir was considered a dictator by many critics and was accused of harboring terrorists and supporting human trafficking. The UN attempted to send in its own troops to relieve the African soldiers, but al-Bashir refused the help, claiming that human rights groups and Israeli nationalists are exaggerating the severity of the situation. While the UN was able to install a peacekeeping mission in cooperation with African Union troops, known as the United Nations-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), these forces were being scaled back by 2014; violence continued in the area. The US government has officially stated that genocide occurred in Darfur. In 2009, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Bashir, charging him with crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.

Beginning in late 2018, Khartoum became one of several sites around the country where protesters gathered in direct response to rising food prices (particularly for bread). By April 2019, even larger groups of people had gathered to protest outside of army headquarters and the president's residence in Khartoum, with many calling for al-Bashir to resign. On April 11, it was announced that al-Bashir had been ousted and arrested by the country's military. In 2023 a power struggle in the military government resulted in fighting across the country between the regular army and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group. An estimated 8 million people were displaced by the violence and almost 1.5 million people fled to neighboring countries as of early 2024. The UN cited many instances of violence against civilians based on ethnicity and reported both sides were recruiting child soldiers.

Bibliography

Barltrop, Richard. Darfur and the International Community: The Challenges of Conflict Resolution in Sudan. Tauris, 2011.

Cumming-Bruce, Nick, and Declan Walsh. "Atrocities Mount in Sudan as War Spirals, U.N. Says." The New York Times, 24 Feb. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/02/24/world/africa/sudan-civil-war-atrocities-un.html. Accessed 28 Feb. 2024.

Elnur, Ibrahim. Contested Sudan: The Political Economy of War and Reconstruction. Routledge, 2012.

Fegley, Randall. Beyond Khartoum: A History of Subnational Government in Sudan. Red Sea, 2011.

George, William Lloyd. "Furor in Khartoum: The Siege of the Western Embassies." Time, 15 Sept. 2012, world.time.com/2012/09/15/western-embassies-come-under-attack-in-sudan/. Accessed 24 Mar. 2014.

Leach, Justin D. War and Politics in Sudan: Cultural Identities and the Challenges of the Peace Process. Tauris, 2013.

"Sudan." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 21 Feb. 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/sudan/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2024.

"Sudan Country Profile." BBC, 13 Sept. 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14094995. Accessed 28 Feb. 2024.

Walsh, Declan, and Joseph Goldstein. "Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir Is Ousted, but Not His Regime." The New York Times, 11 Apr. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/world/africa/sudan-omar-hassan-al-bashir.html. Accessed 24 Apr. 2019.