Kurdufan كردفان |
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Province of Sudan | |||||
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Location of Kurdufan in Sudan | |||||
Capital | Al-Ubayyid | ||||
History | |||||
• | Established | 1898 | |||
• | Disestablished | 1994 | |||
Area | |||||
• | 1983 | 376,145 km2(145,230 sq mi) | |||
Population | |||||
• | 1983 | 3,000,000 | |||
Density | 8 /km2 (20.7 /sq mi) |
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Kurdufan (Arabic: كردفان Kurdufān), also spelled Kordofan, is a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kurdufan, South Kurdufan, and West Kurdufan. In August 2005, West Kurdufan State was abolished and its territory divided between North and South Kurdufan States, as part of the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement. West Kurdufan was reestablished in July 2013.
Kurdufan covers an area of some 376,145 km² (146,932 miles²), with an estimated population in 2000 of 3.6 million (3 million in 1983). It is largely an undulating plain, with the Nuba Mountains in the southeast quarter. During the rainy season from June to September, the area is fertile, but in the dry season, it is virtually desert. The region’s chief town is Al-Ubayyid.
Traditionally the area is known for production of gum arabic. Other crops include groundnuts, cotton, and millet. The main tribal groups are Arab tribes, such as Dar Hamid, Kawahla, Hamar, Bedairiah, Joamaah, and Rekabeiah. In Northern Kurdufan there are large grazing areas used and inhabited since hundreds of years ago by Arabic-speaking, semi-nomadic Baggara and camel-raising Kababish. Nilotic tribes, Nuba, Shilluk and Dinka, also inhabit parts of Kurdufan.