North Bahr al Ghazal

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North Bahr al Ghazal (Arabic: شمال بحر الغزال; transliterated: Shamal Bahr al-Ghazal) is one of the 26 wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 33,558 km² and is part of the Bahr el Ghazal region. Uwayl is the capital of the state.

Because of its proximity to Kordofan and the presence of a railway line through it to Wau it suffered extensively in the recently ended civil war in southern Sudan. North Bahr El Ghazal and adjacent parts of Western Kordofan to the north are among the most politically sensitive regions in Sudan. Missriya Arabs from Kordofan have interacted with Dinka in this region over a long time. While relations during the colonial era were largely peaceful, the recent war saw an upsurge in hostilities. Government backing to the Missriya gave them a decided advantage over local Dinka groups, and raiding by murahileen militias (and other government backed groups, including some Dinka militias) resulted in considerable loss of life, widespread abduction and pillaging of Dinka villages. Many of these raids coincided with the movement of government trains to and from Kordofan to Wau.

Francis M. Deng, 1995, War of Visions, Conflict of Identities in the Sudan, (Washington D.C.: Brookings)

Human Rights Watch, 1999, Famine in Sudan, 1998, The Human Rights Causes, (New York, Human Rights Watch).

David Keen, 1994, The Benefits of Famine, A Political Economy of Famine and Relief in Southwestern Sudan, 1983 - 1989, (New Jersey, Princeton University Press).