Umm Ruwaba,alsoUmm Ruwabah(Arabic:أم روابة;RuabaandUmm Ruaba), is a city in thestateofNorth KurdufaninSudanand is the capital of theUmm Ruwabah District.By road it is located 147 kilometres (91 mi) southeast ofEl Obeid,and 184 kilometres (114 mi) west ofRabak.[1]Founded by theOttoman Empirein 1820, it is at the junction of important roads and camel caravan routes.[2]
Umm Ruwaba
أم روابة | |
|---|---|
  Umm Ruwaba Location in Sudan | |
| Coordinates:12°54′16.41″N31°12′28.32″E/ 12.9045583°N 31.2078667°E | |
| Country |  Sudan |
| State | North Kurdufan |
| District | Umm Ruwaba |
| Time zone | UTC+3(EAT) |
History
editOn 27 April 2013, the town was attacked by theSudanese Revolutionary Front,a rebel alliance. The government was able to 'contain' the attack, but sparked local protests over lack of security in the region.[3]
Geography
editUmm Ruwaba lies in southern central Sudan in the semi-arid region of theSahel.It has an average annual precipitation of 300 to 450millimeters.[4]Local aquifers are considered to be productive and are the source of water for many wells in the region.[5][6]Water is typically extracted from depths of 300 to 400 ft, although some boreholes have been dug as far as 1000 ft.[7]Geologically it lies in the Tertiary-QuaternaryUmm Ruwaba Basin,composed mainly of fine-grainedlacustrineandfluviatilesediments.[8][9][10]
Economy
editLying in this part of the Sahel, Umm Ruwaba is prone to recurring periods of drought,land degradationand famine. The famine of 1983–1985 had a severe impact on the area and caused food riots in the city.[11]Its principal crops are millet and sorghum for home consumption, and sesame for sale in the local markets, and the city is an important storage area for many farmers in the district.[12] TheSudan Roads and Bridges Departmenthas been looking to improve road communications between the city andEl Obeid.[13]
Demographics and religion
editThe main ethnic groups in the city areGawammaandShanablapeoples. Traditionally it is an Islamic area,[14]but a 1980 report documented that an anti-Islamic organisation had converted some 40 families in Umm Ruwaba from Islam to Christianity.[15]
Notable people
edit- Mamoun Beheiry,economist, first commissioner of theBank of Sudanand first president of theAfrican Development Bank,(born October 1, 1925)
References
edit- ^"Umm Ruwaba"(Map).Google Maps.Retrieved13 April2013.
- ^Lavergné, Marc (1989).Le Soudan contemporain: De l'invasion turco-égyptienne à la rébellion africaine (1821-1989).KARTHALA Editions. p. 36.ISBN978-2-86537-222-5.Retrieved13 April2013.
- ^"Sudan: Rebels ousted, but residents protest lack of security".
- ^Khogali, Mustafa M. (Aug 1991). "Famine, Desertification and Vulnerable Populations: The Case of Umm Ruwaba District, Kordofan Region, Sudan".Ambio.20(5). Springer, accessed viaJSTOR:204–206.JSTOR4313823.
- ^Geological Survey Water-supply Paper.U.S. Government Printing Office. 1968. p. 117.Retrieved13 April2013.
- ^Water-supply Paper.U.S. Government Printing Office. 1968. p. 128.Retrieved13 April2013.
- ^Imām, Fayṣal Bashīr (1972).Sudan path to self-sufficiency.Maʼhad al-Dirāsat al-Iḍafīyah, Jāmiʻat al-Khartūm.Retrieved13 April2013.
- ^Shahin, Mamdouh (2007).Water resources and hydrometeorology of the Arab region.Springer. p. 50.ISBN978-1-4020-5414-3.Retrieved13 April2013.
- ^Jāmiʻat al-Kuwayt. Kullīyat al-ʻUlūm (1988).The Journal of the University of Kuwait, Science.Faculty of Science, University of Kuwait. p. 348.Retrieved13 April2013.
- ^Sudan. University of Gezira; National Research Council (U.S.). Board on Science and Technology for International Development (1979).Aquatic weed management: integrated control techniques for the Gezira irrigation scheme: report of a workshop, 3-6 December 1978.National Academies. p. 36. NAP:14401.Retrieved13 April2013.
- ^Waal, Alex De (1997).Famine Crimes: Politics & [and] the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa.African Rights & the International African Institute. p.103.ISBN978-0-85255-810-2.Retrieved13 April2013.
- ^Hassan, Salah; Ray, Carina (2009).Darfur and the crisis of governance in Sudan: a critical reader.Cornell University Press. p. 80.ISBN978-0-8014-7594-8.Retrieved13 April2013.
- ^Shea, Gerald P (23 January 2009).Jerry, Catch Your Plane on Time: Travels to the Middle East and Beyond.iUniverse. p. 72.ISBN978-1-4401-1201-0.Retrieved13 April2013.
- ^Joseph, Suad; Naǧmābādī, Afsāna (2003).Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures, Volume 3: Family, Body, Sexuality and Health.BRILL. p. 539.ISBN978-90-04-12819-4.Retrieved13 April2013.
- ^Sudanow.Ministry of Culture and Information. 1980. p. 10.Retrieved13 April2013.