Blue Nile State
State
Native nameولاية النيل الأزرق
Other nameWilāyat an-Nīl al-Azraq
CountrySudan
RegionBlue Nile Province
CapitalAd-Damazin
GovernorAhmed al-Omda
Area total45844 km²
Population as of2018
Population total1,108,391[1]
Time zoneCAT (UTC+2)
Coordinates11°16′N 34°4′E
HDI (2017)0.416[2]
low

Blue Nile State (Arabic: ولاية النيل الأزرق Wilāyat an-Nīl al-ʾAzraq) is one of the 18 states of the Republic of the Sudan. Established by Presidential Decree No. 3 in 1992, it is named after the Blue Nile River. The region is host to around forty different ethnic groups. Its economic activity is based on agriculture and livestock as well as mineral exploitation. It borders Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the west, and Sennar to the north.

History

In 2011, residents of Blue Nile were scheduled to hold ill-defined "popular consultations" to determine the constitutional future of the state, per the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Instead, a dispute over the rightful government of the state, and the determination of Omar al-Bashir to eradicate the Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North, led to a renewed nine-year conflict between government forces and the Sudan Revolutionary Front as well as contributing to a refugee crisis.[3][4] The conflict finally came to an end in 2020 after a peace agreement was signed and the government to not discriminate based on ethnicity or religion.[5][6]

Further clashes in the state broke out in 2022 between the Hausa people and Funj and Berta peoples over land disputes which led to the deaths of hundreds of civilians.[7] On 5 August 2024, the RSF launched an incursion into the state and continues to control northwestern parts of the state.[8] On 5 March 2025, SAF launched a counteroffensive on the rest of RSF controlled territory in Sennar, and took full control over territories, including Mazmoum.

In 2026, conflict renewed as the RSF and SPLM-N launched an offensive from the Ethiopian border, capturing Kurmuk and the southern areas of the state.

Administration

The State is sub-divided into five districts (with 2006 Census populations shown hereafter):

  1. Ad Damazin District (212,712)
  2. Al Roseires District (215,857)
  3. Geissan District (87,809)
  4. Baw District (127,251)
  5. Al Kurumik District (110,815)

State Governors

[11]

Geography

Blue Nile state has an area of 45,844 km2 and an estimated population of 1,193,293. The Central Bureau of Statistics quoted the population at 832,112 in the 2006 census. Ad-Damazin is the capital of the state. The state of Blue Nile is home to the Roseires Dam, the main source of hydroelectric power in Sudan until the completion of the Merowe Dam in 2010.

Settlements

Languages

The following languages are spoken in Blue Nile state according to Ethnologue.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-03-12. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  2. ^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  3. ^ Boswell, Alan (2 September 2011). "Sudan's Conflict Spreads: Is This the Start of a New Civil War?". Time. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  4. ^ Maasho, Aaron (14 October 2011). "Sudan's Blue Nile conflict forces painful return to Ethiopia". Reuters Africa. Reuters. Archived from the original on 17 October 2011.
  5. ^ "Sudan signs landmark peace deal with rebel alliance". DW. 31 August 2020. Archived 16 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  6. ^ Michael Atit (4 September 2020). "Sudan's Government Agrees to Separate Religion and State". Voice of America. Archived 8 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  7. ^ SudanTribune (2023-01-16). "Blue Nile tribal groups agree to end bloody violence". Sudan Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  8. ^ Monitor, Sudan War. "Map: RSF incursion into Blue Nile State". sudanwarmonitor.com
  9. ^ "Sudan appoints new governor in Blue Nile". www.occasionalwitness.com. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  10. ^ "Sudan's prime minister appoints 3 state governors in Darfur, Blue Nile". June 13, 2021.
  11. ^ "States of the Sudan since 1991". WorldStatesmen.org
  12. ^ Languages of Sudan. Ethnologue, 22nd edition.