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.

Khartoum is increasingly affected by climate change, with more frequent heatwaves, irregular rainfall, extended droughts, and occasional flooding during the rainy season all of which strain agriculture, water resources, public health, and infrastructure. These evolving weather patterns have intensified the challenges posed by the city’s natural climate, which is classified as hot desert. Khartoum experiences high temperatures throughout the year, with an average of 30.5 degrees Celsius (87 degrees Fahrenheit), and summer peaks often exceeding 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit). Rainfall is minimal, averaging just 70 millimeters (2.8 inches) annually, mostly occurring between May and August. The prevailing arid conditions and increasingly unpredictable climate underscore the city's vulnerability to environmental stress.

People

As of 2023, Khartoum has an estimated population of 6.344 million, according to the CIA World Factbook. The city's demographics have long been shaped by internal displacement and regional conflicts. While dominated by Arab and Black Sunni Muslims reflecting the broader composition of Sudan Khartoum is also home to a significant portion of the country's Christian minority, particularly Copts, due to historical missionary activity from Egypt. Arabic and English are the official languages, though other languages such as Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, and Fur are spoken as well.

Throughout the 1970s and beyond, Khartoum expanded rapidly due to the influx of internally displaced persons and refugees from conflict zones in Chad, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. By 2007, over 240,000 Eritrean refugees resided in Sudan, with thousands more from Chad and Ethiopia, many of whom settled on the outskirts of the capital.

The ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in April 2023, has significantly altered the city's population. Over half of Khartoum’s residents have fled due to violence, and those who remain face dire conditions. With more than 150,000 fatalities and 11 million displaced nationwide, the humanitarian crisis has devastated infrastructure, including landmarks like the National Museum and the international airport. While aid efforts are underway, the scale of the crisis demands more robust international intervention to support recovery and ensure the survival of those still in the city.

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.

As of 2023, Sudan's GDP stood at approximately 26.9 billion dollars, but specific data on Khartoum's contribution to the national economy is not readily available. Being the capital and largest city, Khartoum is home to a majority of the country's industrial, commercial, and administrative activities, implying it plays a crucial role in Sudan's GDP. However, ongoing conflict since April 2023 has disrupted economic activities in the city, leading to a significant decline in industrial output and services. The destruction of infrastructure, including manufacturing facilities and transportation networks, has severely impacted the economy, and Khartoum's contribution to the national GDP has likely diminished as a result of these disruptions.

Khartoum's manufacturing sector traditionally included industries such as cotton textiles, knitwear, glass production, printing, and food processing. The al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory, once a vital part of Sudan's economy, was destroyed in 1998 following U.S. claims it had links to chemical weapons production, though no evidence of this was found later. Despite the lifting of some sanctions in 2017, Sudan's economy struggled with inflation and poor international relations. The 2021 military coup exacerbated the economic challenges, leading to a drop in foreign investment. The ongoing conflict since 2023 has caused massive economic losses, severely affecting critical sectors like agriculture and manufacturing, and the GDP is expected to experience long-term negative effects.

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.

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