Place:Al-Fashir

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Al-Fashir (also alternatively rendered as El Fasher; Arabic: الفاشر, romanized: al-Fāshir) is a city in western Sudan. It serves as the capital of the North Darfur State and is located in the Darfur region of Sudan, and is 195 kilometres (121 mi) northeast of Nyala, Sudan.[1] A historical caravan post, Al-Fashir is located at an elevation of about 700 metres (2,300 ft).[1] The city serves as an agricultural marketing point for the cereals and fruits grown in the surrounding region. Al-Fashir is linked by road with both Geneina and Umm Keddada. Al-Fashir had 264,734 residents as of 2006, an increase from 2001, when the population was estimated to be 178,500.[1] UN Habitat reported a population of over 500,000 for Al-Fashir in 2009, attributing the increase to refugees and economic migrants.[2]

History

Al-Fashir's origins date back to the late 18th century, when Abdul Rahman el-Rashid, the then Sultan of the Sultanate of Darfur, moved his itinerant court (fashir) to a site called Rahad Tendelti while campaigning in the region of northern Darfur as it was a superb spot for a settlement and grazing; eventually, the site was renamed to Al-Fashir.[3][4] A town developed around the sultan's palace grounds.[1]

Al Fashir University was created in 1990 by decree of President Omar al-Bashir, and was officially opened in February 1991 in premises west of Al Fashir Airport and south of the Al Fashir Secondary School.[5]

Children playing in the streets of Al-Fashir, 2006

Fighting known as the Battle of al-Fashir commenced in April 2023.[6]

Due to the civil war in Sudan, the city was under siege from the Rapid Support Forces militia from April 2024 until October 2025, when the RSF captured the city. The United Nations has warned that the civilian population of the city is starving, and has been in constant danger since the Rapid Support Forces' bombing of public areas such as the central marketplace.[7] Widespread killings and rape were reported[8] after the city was taken by the RSF on October 27, 2025.[9]

Geography

Climate

Al-Fashir has a hot arid climate (Köppen BWh) with three distinct seasons. There is a bone-dry and relatively "cool" season from October to February when temperatures are merely hot by afternoon and cool in the mornings, which gives way to a sweltering and equally arid "hot season" from March to May with high temperatures around 38 °C or 100 °F and morning lows of 21 °C or 70 °F. The Sahelian monsoon arrives in June and lasts until September, creating a short wet season that produces virtually all the year's rainfall of around 210 millimetres or 8.3 inches, accompanied by much higher humidity than during the remainder of the year.

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Economy

Due to the nearby Abu Shouk[12] and Al Salam[13] IDP camps with the influx of humanitarian aid from the United Nations as a result of the Darfur crisis, the city has experienced a significant economic and population boom. Rents and retail sales increased, including the selling of bottled water and the opening of a pizza parlor to cater to the demand from western aid workers. The number of gas stations has tripled in three years as a result of the increase in the number of automobiles in the city. Employment opportunities also increased as the United Nations offered jobs to citizens. Economics analyst Adam Ahmed stated that the "people [of Al-Fashir] are beginning to think in a more business-minded way" to make the most of their situation.[14]

Notable residents

  • Siham Hassan, Sudanese politician and activist, killed during the RSF capture of the city in 2025.[15]

See also

  • Chad—border country near Nyala, Sudan
  • History of Darfur
  • Sudanese civil war
    • Siege of al-Fashir
  • Fur people

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Al-Fashir" (description), Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007
  2. ↑ "Profile of El Fasher Town and Abu Shouk IDP Camp". UN Habitat. https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/download-manager-files/El%20Fasher%20and%20Abu%20Shouk%20Profile.pdf. 
  3. ↑ Crummey, Donald (2005). Land, literacy and the state in Sudanic Africa. Red Sea Press. ISBN 1-56902-182-1. OCLC 52601158. 
  4. ↑ de Waal, Alex (2005). Famine That Kills: Darfur. Cary, NC: Oxford University Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-19-518163-0. https://archive.org/details/faminethatkillsd00dewa. 
  5. ↑ "History of the University". Al Fashir University. http://www.fashir.edu.sd/. 
  6. ↑ Salih, Zeinab Mohammed; Michaelson, Ruth (2023-05-01). "Medics in Sudan warn of crisis as health system near collapse" (in en-GB). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/01/medics-in-sudan-warn-of-crisis-as-health-system-near-collapse. 
  7. ↑ "'Only hunger and bombs' for besieged civilians in Sudan's el Fasher | UN News". 13 August 2025. https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165642. 
  8. ↑ "Sudan conflict: El-Fasher's fall to RSF paramilitary force raises fear of mass killings". www.bbc.com. 28 October 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyld9w0283o. 
  9. ↑ Yousra, Elbagir. "Key Sudan city falls to paramilitary group following 18-month siege". https://news.sky.com/story/key-sudan-city-falls-to-paramilitary-group-following-18-month-siege-13458797. 
  10. ↑ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020 — al-Fashir". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Sudan/CSV/ElFasher_62760.csv. 
  11. ↑ "El Fasher (Al-Fashir) Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-I/SU/62760.TXT. 
  12. ↑ Mitchell, Andrea (2007) Talking Back...to Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels (2nd edition) Penguin Books, New York, page xli, ISBN 978-0-14-303873-3
  13. ↑ "Northern Darfur: Abu Shouk and Al Salam IDP Camps" map, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Date Created: 1 February 2009
  14. ↑ Sanders, Edmund. A Darfur capital is a humanitarian boomtown, Los Angeles Times, 2008-04-30.
  15. ↑ "وسائل إعلام سودانية: اغتيال النائبة سهام حسن أصغر برلمانية فى تاريخ السودان داخل الفاشر" (in ar). Youm7. 2025-10-28. https://www.youm7.com/story/2025/10/28/%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%84-%D8%A5%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D8%BA%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%B3%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%86-%D8%A3%D8%B5%D8%BA%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%89/7175058. 




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