TheNuba Mountains(Arabic:جبال النوبة), also referred to as theNuba Hills,are an area located inSouth Kordofan,Sudan.The area is home to a group of indigenous ethnic groups known collectively as theNuba peoples.They are not the same as theNubianswho are indigenous to north Sudan. Rather their name is derived from the name of the mountains, “Nuba”. In theMiddle Ages,the Nuba mountains had been part of theNubiankingdom ofAlodia.[1]In the 18th century, they became home to the kingdom ofTaqalithat controlled the hills of the mountains until their defeat by MahdiMuhammad Ahmad.After theBritishdefeated the Mahdi army, Taqali was restored as a client state. Infiltration of theMessiria tribeandMuraheleenofBaggara Arabshas been influential in modern conflicts. Up to 1.5 million people live in the mountains, mostly ethnicNuba,with a small minority ofBaggara.[2]
| Nuba Mountains | |
|---|---|
| جبال النوبة Jibal an-Nūbā | |
 The Nuba Mountains | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,325 m (4,347 ft) |
| Coordinates | 12°1′N31°6′E/ 12.017°N 31.100°E |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 145 km (90 mi) |
| Width | 64 km (40 mi) |
| Geography | |
  Location in Africa | |
| Countries | Sudan,South Sudan |
| Region | South Kordofan |
Geography
editThe mountains cover an area roughly 64km wide by 145km long (40 by 90 miles), and are 450 to 900 metres (1,500 to 3,000 ft) higher in elevation than the surrounding plain. The mountains stretch for some 48,000 square kilometers (19,000 square miles).[3]The climate is lush and green compared with most nearby areas — typicallyhot semi-aridwith a rainy season extending from mid-May to mid-October, and annual rainfall between 300 and 800 millimetres (12 and 31 in) — allowing grazing animals and seasonal rain-fed agriculture. At the end of the dry season from February to May there is often a shortage of water.[4]There are almost no roads in the Nuba Mountains — most villages there are connected by ancient paths that cannot be reached by motor vehicle.
Geology
editOn a grand scale the rocks of the Nuba Mountains form part of the southwestern fringe of theArabian-Nubian Shield.[5]The Nuba Mountains are made up chiefly ofmetamorphic rockofPrecambrianage plus some scattered areas ofigneous rockofNeoproterozoicandPaleozoicage.[4]Surrounding the area of the Nuba Mountains as a sea lies a vast area ofCenozoic-agedsedimentary rockknown as the "Umm Rawaba sediments".[4]In the Nuba Mountains there arephosphatedeposits hosting muchuranium,vanadiumandphosphoruswhich may be of economic interest.[6]
The largest mountains or hills are found in the central area of the Nuba Mountains, and these areinselbergs.These inselbergs are mostly made up of igneous rock, as metamorphic rock has been more heavily eroded and thus occupies lower ground.[4]
Political status
editThe region stayed under the control of the central government and theComprehensive Peace Agreementdid not give the Nuba Mountains the right to joinSouth Sudanin its vote for independence in 2011. Residents of the Nuba Mountains were required to hold ill-defined "popular consultations"to determine their future.[7][8]Not only the Nuba Mountains but the whole of South Kordofan state would be eligible to vote, essentially to accommodate theMessiria.[9]Additionally, the Sudanese government maintained a heavy military presence in the region and even prospective "popular consultations" were seen likely to be barred.[9]The ambiguous situation and fears of future communal violence invoked concerns that South Kordofan could be the "nextDarfur".[10][11][12]
As of June 2011, South Kordofan's governorAhmed Harounhad suspended the process of popular consultations and conflict betweenSudan People's Armed Forcesand Nuba fighters of theSPLM-Nfollowed[13](seeSudan–SPLM-N conflict (2011)).
The war in Sudan began in 1983 until the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed on 9 January 2005 with independence vote set for 9 July 2011-the vote on 9 July 2011 succeeded the south into Africa's newest country, theRepublic of South Sudan.The capital is located inJuba.The Nuba Mountains are geographically in the north in the area calledSouth Kordofan(see Wikipedia for in-depth review). The people of the Nuba Mountains (a five mountain chain rising from the desert to 1,000 metres (3,000 feet)) were not aligned with the north undersharia lawnor theArabic language.This cultural dispute was in part the reason for people in Nuba being prosecuted by indiscriminate bombing, attacks on civilians and mines at entry points to the Nuba Mountains.Samuel Tottendescribed the campaign of the Sudanese government in the Nuba Mountains as a "genocide by attrition" using starvation as a tool of extermination.[14]In 2002, due to the extreme starvation of the people of the Nuba Mountains and under the international pressure from the UN,Khartoumunder President Bashir (at that time, the government was termed the National Islamic Front) authorizes an interim cease fire to provide food and medical equipment/support to the people of the Nuba Mountains. In exchange, the Sudan People's Liberation Army/SPLA agree not attack the south-north pipeline toPort Sudanon theRed Seacoast. An international group of observers/advisers deployed toSouth KordofanProvince/Kadugliwith several US advisers deployed directly into the Nuba Mountains, specifically to be co-located with the SPLA. One of the advisers/observers was Randolph Hampton (US) located inKaudaco-located with the SPLA command element. Reports of indiscriminate bombing of civilians and mining entry points primarily for relief operation was reported and documents (with photos) during this time. Abdel Aziz Adam El Hilu was at that time, the governor of the Nuba Mountains and former military leader for the SPLA. He is currently (as of March 2012) back in the Nuba Mountains supporting relief and security operations.
The international community, including a number of celebrities such as actorGeorge Clooney[15]and reporterNicholas Kristof,[16]in 2015 travelled to the Nuba Mountains and documented the continued genocidal activities of the Bashir government. President Bashir is an indictedwar criminalat the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a result of the genocidal activities of Sudan inDarfur.Human Rights Watchsays thatcluster bombsare used in the region.[17]
The ongoing war continues as the international community continues to debate a resolution to the issue of the Nuba Mountains.[18]
As of 2025 in the course of the civil war, most of the state including the largest city ofKologiare controlled by the secular free-market democrats underal-Hilu.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Spaulding 1998,p. 49.
- ^"Nuba Mountains".Bradt Guides.
- ^"BBC News - Will Sudan's Nuba Mountains be left high and dry?".bbc.co.uk.
- ^abcdAhmed, F.; Hagaz, Y.A.; Andrawis, A.S. (1984)."Landsat model for groundwater exploration in Nuba Mountains, Sudan".Advances in Space Research.4(11):123–131.Bibcode:1984AdSpR...4k.123A.doi:10.1016/0273-1177(84)90400-9.
- ^Abdelsalam, Mohamed G.; Dawoud, Ahmed S. (1991-01-01)."The Kabus ophiolitic melange, Sudan, and its bearing on the western boundary of the Nubian Shield".Journal of the Geological Society.148(1):83–92.Bibcode:1991JGSoc.148...83A.doi:10.1144/gsjgs.148.1.0083.S2CID128495260.
- ^Dill, Harald G.; Busch, Klaus; Blum, Norbert (1991-02-01)."Chemistry and origin of vein-like phosphate mineralization, Nuba Mountains (Sudan)".Ore Geology Reviews.6(1):9–24.doi:10.1016/0169-1368(91)90029-7.
- ^Will Sudan's Nuba Mountains be left high and dry?by Peter Martell,BBC News,24 November 2009
- ^SUDAN: The Nuba Mountains - straddling the north-south divide,IRIN,12 November 2009
- ^ab"Why are the Nuba of Sudan Protesting? by Suleiman Musa Rahhal, FIBMS".sudaneseonline.com.
- ^Sudan's Southern Kordofan Problem: The Next Darfur?,International Crisis Groupreport, 21 October 2008
- ^The Daily Telegraph: "New war in Sudan's Nuba mountains?"November 4, 2009.
- ^BBC: "Sudan: Could Nuba mountains be next conflict?"May 10, 2011
- ^"Is Sudan heading for an acrimonious divorce?".BBC News.
- ^Totten, Samuel (2015).Genocide by Attrition The Nuba Mountains of South Sudan.ISBN978-1412856713.
- ^"George Clooney Puts 'Spotlight' on Bloodshed, Crisis in Sudan's Nuba Mountains".PBS NewsHour.
- ^"Opinion | A Rain of Bombs in the Nuba Mountains (Published 2015)".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-01-04.
- ^"Sudan: Cluster Bombs Used in Nuba Mountains".Human Rights Watch.
- ^Al Jazeera: "Eyes of Nuba - Armed with a camera, Ahmed Khatir sets out to tell the story of a war that hardly anyone has heard of"27 January 2014
Literature
edit- Spaulding, Jay (1998). "Early Kordofan". In Endre Stiansen and Michael Kevane (ed.).Kordofan Invaded: Peripheral Incorporation in Islamic Africa.Brill. pp.46–59.ISBN9004110496.
Further reading
edit- Erwald, Janet J. (1990).Soldier, Traders, and Slaves: State Formation and Economic Transformation in the Greater Nile Valley, 1700-1885.University of Wisconsin.ISBN0-299-12604-8.
- Spaulding, Jay (1987). "A Premise for Precolonial Nuba History".History in Africa.14.Cambridge University:369–374.doi:10.2307/3171848.JSTOR3171848.S2CID161907225.
- "A Bibliography of Research on the Nuba Mountains"(PDF).Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.2017.
External links
edit
Media related toNuba Mountainsat Wikimedia Commons- The Nuba Mountains Homepage
- The Nuba Survival Association
- Varhola, Christopher H. - Cows, Korans, and Kalashnikovs: The Multiple Dimensions of Conflict in the Nuba Mountains of Central SudanDepartment of Anthropology, The Catholic University of America, September 2002. (at theWayback Machine)
- Nubawatch: "Nuba Mountains: The Beginning"January 9, 2011.
- Al Jazeera: "In Pictures: Sudan's mountain refuges"March 23, 2012
- Full documentary about Nuba sufferings in the Nuba Mountains
- New York Times: "The Worst Atrocity You’ve Never Heard Of" By Adam B. EllickJuly 13, 2015
