HANDBOOK FOR SPECIAL OPERATIONS SUDAN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-01444R000100010001-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 158
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 21, 1998
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: September 1, 1963
• Content Type: CH

prepared -by
September
1963
GROUP 1
Excluded from automatic
downgrading and
declassification
Directorate of Intelligence
ase 20 10001.;
010001-7
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FEDERATION OF
RHODESIA AND
NYASALAND
ISRAEL
JO AN
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HANDBOOK FOR SPECIAL OPERATIONS
SUDAN
WARNING
This material contains information affecting
the National Defense of the United States
within the meaning of the espionage laws,
Title 18, USC, Sees. 793 and 794, the trans-
mission or revelation of which in any manner
to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
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CONTENTS
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Page
I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. History, Politics, and International Relations . . . . . . 3
A. History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1. Sudan Under Egyptian Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Sudan Under British Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Sudan Since Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
B. Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1. Domestic Policies of the Military Regime . . . 4
2. Political Opposition to the Military Regime . . . 5
a. The Ansar Brotherhood and the Umma Party . . . 5
b. Khatmiyah Brotherhood, People's Democratic
Party, and National Unionist Party . . . . . 6
c. Current Political Activities . . . . . . . . . 6
d. The Communist Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3. Southern Opposition to the Military Regime . . . . 7
C. Structure of Government . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . 8
1. Central Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2. Provincial Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3. Local Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4. Judiciary . . . . . . . . 10
5. Civil Service . . . . . . 10
D. International Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1. Sudanese Neutralism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2. Relations With Egypt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3. Relations With Other African States . . . . . . . 12
Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Leading Personalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
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III. Physical Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
A. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
B. Desert Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2. Nubian Desert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3. Libyan Desert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4. Bayuda Desert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5. The Nile River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
C. Semidesert Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2. Red Sea Hills and Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3. The Butana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4. Areas of Irrigated Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . 25
5. West of the White Nile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
D. Thin Woodland Savanna Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2. The Clay Plains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3. The Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4. The Qoz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
E. Wooded Upland Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2. West of the White Nile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3. East of the White Nile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
F. Seasonal Flood Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
IV. Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
A. Distribution and Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
B. Cultural Contrasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
C. Ethnic Groupings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
1. The Arabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2. The Nubians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3. The Be j a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4. The Nub a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
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5. The Darfur Tribes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6. The Nilotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7. The Nilo-Hamites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8. The Sudani c Tribes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
D. Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
E. Health and Medical Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F. Diet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
G. Dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
H. Housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I. Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
V. Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B. Natural Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C. Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
D. Industry and Electric Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
E. Forestry and Fisheries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F. Employment and Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
G. Foreign Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
H. Foreign Loans and Aid Programs . . . . . . . . . . . .
I. Economic Growth, the Budget, and Development Plans . .
J. Money and Banking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
K. Prime Economic Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
VI. Transportation and Telecommunications . . . . . . . . . . .
A. Roads and Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1. Trafficability and Seasonality . . . . . . . . . .
2. Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. Probable Trail Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4. Cross-Border Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5. Off-Road and Cross-Country Wheeled Movement . . . .
B. Railroads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C. Water Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1. Merchant Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2. Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. Inland Waterways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
81
83
83
83
87
89
89
93
95
97
97
97
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D. Air Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
E. Telecommunications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
F. Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
VII. Military and Internal Security Forces . . . . . . . . . . 107
A. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
B. Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
C . Navy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
D. Air Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
E. Internal Security Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
VIII. Survival Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
A. Physical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
1. Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
2. Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
3. Natural Dangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
B. Medical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Appendixes
Appendix A. Place Name Spellings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Appendix B. Recommended Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Appendix C. Recommended Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Photographs
(abbreviated titles)
Figure 1. Desert south of Wadi Haifa . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Figure 2. Hills near the Nile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Figure 3. Nile Cataract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Figure 4. Flooded land along the Blue Nile . . . . . . . . 27
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Figure 5. Forest regrowth northwest of Yei . . . . . . . . . 32
Figure 6. Vegetation on Congo border . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Figure 7. Hills west of Kapoeta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Figure 8. Landscape north of Malakal . . . . . . . . . . 36
Figure 9. Marshland in the Seasonal Flood Region . . . . . . 36
Figure 10. Arab women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Figure 11. Arab men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Figure 12. Nubian girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Figure 13. Beja tribesmen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Figure 14. Dinka chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Figure 15. Nuer tribesmen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Figure 16. Shilluk tribesman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Figure 17. Nuer tribesman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Figure 18. Girl of the Madi tribe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Figure 19. Zande witch doctor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Figure 20. Dinka tribesmen fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Figure 21. Desert village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Figure 22. Huts in Nuba Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Figure 23. Jur family and hut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Figure 24. Dinka family and hut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Figure 25. Aerial view of Gezira scheme . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Figure 26. Small canal in the Gezira . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Figure 27. Sennar Dam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Figure 28. Road and railroad in Nubian Desert . . . . . . . . 82
- vii -
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Figure 29.
Figure 30.
Figure 31.
Figure 32.
Figure 33.
Figure 34.
Figure 35.
Figure 36.
Figure 37.
Figure 38.
Figure 39.
Figure 40.
Figure 41.
Figure 42.
Figure 43.
Figure 44.
Figure 45.
Figure 46.
Figure 47.
Figure 48.
Figure 49.
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Road and railroad between Khartoum and Atbara . . . 82
Road between Berber and Shendi . . . . . . . . . . 84
Road north of Malakal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Ferry crossing Sobat River . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Road between Juba and Mundri . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Bus with sand tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Trail across Congo border . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Congo border post . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Road and Countryside between Kassala and
Eritrean border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Road and countryside between Kosti and Renk .
Road and countryside west of Kapoeta . . . . . . . 92
Railroad station southeast of Wadi Halfa . . . . . 94
Port Sudan harbor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Passenger boats on the Nile . . . . . . . . . . . .
96
98
Bridge between Juba and Nimule . . . . . . . . . . 104
Jebel Aulia Dam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l05
Troops training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Paratroopers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Sudanese fleet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 11?
Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 111+
Tsetse fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
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Maps
Following page
38131 Sudan: Population and Administrative
Divisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
38096 Sudan: Tribes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
37960 Sudan: Economic Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7L.
38095 Sudan : Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
37922 Sudan: Order of Battle 15 December 1962 . . . . . . 116
3809+ Sudan: Terrain and Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
38097 Sudan: Administration and Railroads . . . . . . . . 135
37921 Sudan: Airfields and Seaplane Stations . . . . . . . 135
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FOREWORD
This Handbook is designed primarily to support operational planners,
unit commanders, and personnel who may be involved in special operations
such as guerrilla warfare, counterinsurgency, civic action, or allied
activities in Sudan. The purpose of the Handbook is to present essential
background material, some or all of which will be necessary for those
planning and carrying out special operations. The Handbook is not
designed for support of any specific operation or for support of any
particular type of special operation. It is intended to supply basic
essentials to which can be added more specific and more current details
immediately prior to any operation.
Secondarily, the Handbook is designed to be useful as briefing,
training, and familiarization material for those who do not have the
time or need for more detailed reading. It will also serve as an
introduction to Sudan for those who need further, more specialized
study.
The principal sources used in the preparation of individual chapters
of the Handbook are listed at the ends of the chapters. Users of the
Handbook are encouraged to refer to these sources for more nearly com-
plete coverage of the subject material.
Place names are spelled in the text in the way they normally appear
in newspapers and popular periodicals. They are spelled on the maps
according to the US Board on Geographic Names transliteration system.
A comparative spelling list is included at the end of the Handbook for
the user's convenience.
The cutoff date for material contained in this Handbook is 15 August
1963.
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c r FR m
HANDBOOK FOR SPECIAL OPERATIONS -- SUDAN
Sudan, the largest country in Africa, is divided into a Moslem north
and a south populated by Negroes who are pagan or Christian. The Suda-
nese Government is attempting to integrate these southern peoples with
the northern majority through a policy of stressing Arabic as the offi-
cial language and Islam as a religion. This policy is meeting with
resistance, and disturbances may result. The southern dissidents, who
are allied by race and outlook to their black African neighbors in
countries bordering Sudan, hope to win the sympathy of the peoples of
these countries. Sympathy has already been gained among the governments
and peoples of Chad, the Central African Republic, and the Republic of
the Congo, but its strength is difficult to assess. For diplomatic and
political reasons and because of their own internal problems the govern-
ments of the East African nations, including Uganda, will probably show
little interest in supporting the dissident movement despite cross-border
tribal affinities and even the sympathy of their peoples. The dissidents,
however, want to get the attention of the governments of these countries
and of the United Nations, and they may use force to do so. Unless the
government in Khartoum acts quickly, southern Sudan may become the scene
of chronic disturbances and brigandage.
The cleavage between north and south is not only a matter of poli-
tics but also basically one of culture, race, religion, and language.
There are marked economic and geographic contrasts as well. The north,
particularly in the areas around Khartoum, Port Sudan, and the Gezira,
has made economic progress in the last few years, while the economy of
the south has progressed little and remains one of primitive hunting,
fishing, and subsistence agriculture. Very little foreign aid is chan-
neled to the south. The north makes the money with which to run the
country, mostly from cotton; the south is an economic drain on the north.
The north is a rock and sand desert, and much of the population is con-
centrated along the Nile and its tributaries. In the south, on the other
hand, water is plentiful most of the year, there are great swampy areas,
and the people are spread more evenly over the landscape. The difference
in the two types of landscape is reflected in the varied problems of
movement and survival in the two areas.
All of these differences between north and south must be understood
and taken into account in planning and undertaking Special Operations
in Sudan.
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ORIGINAL DOCUMENT MISSING PAGE(S):
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II. History, Politics, and International Relations
A. History
1. Sudan Under Egyptian Rule
Sudan is divided by culture, language, religion and political aware-
ness into two distinct areas, the Moslem-Arab north and the predominantly
pagan, non-Arab south. Sudan did not become a political unit until 1820
when Mohammad All, the Ottoman governor of Egypt, invaded and occupied
the country in order to secure an abundant supply of slaves for his army.
During the Ottoman-Egyptian occupation of Sudan (1820-85) many
Sudanese from the northern towns were educated in Cairo and became
oriented toward Egypt and the Arab-Moslem culture of the Middle East.
However, Egyptian control over Sudan weakened as the century progressed.
Local administration was oppressive and corrupt, and the slave trade
became increasingly barbaric. The fact that the slave traders -- the
middlemen who sold to the Egyptians and others -- were mostly from the
northern Sudan and that the victims of their enterprise were from the
south is one of the principal reasons for the mistrust with which the
south regards the north to this day.
Resentment against the Egyptian administration culminated in 1885
in the revolt of the "Mahdi," or Messiah, a Moslem' zealot with a fanat-
ical following whose aim was to get rid of alien rule in order to estab-
lish an independent state based strictly on Islamic principles. He was
opposed by the educated townspeople but was able, nevertheless, to
expel the Egyptian forces from Sudan and impose his own government.
Since Sudan straddled the upper reaches of the Nile on which Egyptian
agriculture depended, the country had become important to Britain, which
was now in control of Egypt. A combined British-Egyptian campaign was
launched, and Sudan was conquered after 13 years of Mahdi rule.
2. Sudan Under British Rule
Anglo-Egyptian authority which was established in Sudan (1899) was
a condominium (joint government) but one in which virtually all the
controlling administrative and military positions were held by the
British. Under this essentially efficient administration the country
improved in the fields of agriculture, communications, health, and
education; and a modern administration was established with many
Sudanese participating at the lower levels. The south was not fully
integrated into the administrative system, however, until 1927, and
its slower progress toward modernization widened the contrast between
north and south. The British followed a policy in the south of leaving
responsibility for local government in the hands of native tribal
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chiefs, while virtually all educational and medical work was carried out
by Christian missionaries.
3. Sudan Since Independence
Sudanese nationalism developed in the 1920's in opposition to British
rule and was first promoted by the educated townsmen who tended to side
with Egypt in its recurrent disputes with Britain over control of Sudan.
Sudan was granted self-government in 1951, and full independence on
1 January 1956. Democratic government did not operate easily in Sudan
because of unfamiliarity with the democratic process and the irreconcilable
divisions among the various political groups. The corruptibility of many
politicians also made it possible for Egypt to exert undue influence on
Sudanese policy. The government was overthrown on 17 November 1958 by a
bloodless military coup, with little popular opposition. Parliament was
dissolved, political parties were banned, and all authority was given to
a Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, headed by Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Abboud,
who later assumed the presidency of Sudan. The Supreme Council has con-
tinued to maintain its authority through its control of the civil admin-
istration as well as of the army and the police.
1. Domestic Policies of the Military Regime
The domestic policies of the military regime are (1) to reshape the
government into a modified form of constitutional democracy, (2) to
develop a sound economy through industrialization and agricultural
diversification, and (3) to foster Islamic culture throughout the whole
of Sudan as a factor for national unity.
A gradual program for-restoring constitutional government was
announced in November 1961. This calls for the establishment of a
Central Council to which some members will be appointed and the rest
elected by provincial councils which, in turn, will be appointed in
part and elected in part by local councils. After the formation of the
Central Council, which will act as the national legislature, the President
will have a constitution drafted and hold national elections. Local
council elections were completed 1 May 1963.
The government encourages private enterprise, both domestic and
foreign, but it has undertaken the most important development projects
itself. An agreement concluded with Egypt in 1959 for the division of
the Nile waters permitted the Sudanese Government to proceed with major
irrigation and hydroelectric projects. Two comprehensive five-year plans
for economic development have already been completed, and in September
1962 the government announced the adoption of a ten-year plan which
would include 19 individual projects.
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2. Political opposition to the Military Regime
The politicians of the former parliamentary regime are a continuing
source of opposition to the existing government and its policies. The
principal reasons for this opposition are the slowness of the regime in
bringing about democratization of the government and its reluctance to
restore the parliamentary process. The regime, on its part, has attempted
to maintain the distinction between the formal political parties, which
it opposes, and the religious brotherhoods, whose support it hopes to
gain.
The most important Sudanese political parties represent the two
largest Moslem brotherhoods in northern Sudan, the Ansar and the
Khatmiyah.
A major issue of Sudanese politics has been the question of union
with Egypt. At the time Sudan achieved independence, Egypt everted
strong pressure to bring about a union of the two countries in order to
gain complete control of the Nile River.
a. The Ansar Brotherhood and the Umma Party
The Ansar brotherhood is essentially a religious grouping, but
it is politically important because its members give political as well
as spiritual allegiance to the head of the brotherhood. Originally
Ansar members were followers of the Mahdi, who led the revolt against
Egyptian rule (1881-85). During the greater part of the Condominium
the brotherhood was led by Abd al-Rahman al Mahdi (1885-1959) who
regarded himself as the heir to his father's "divinely appointed"
leadership and the champion of Sudanese independence. His policy was
to resist Egyptian attempts to absorb Sudan and to cooperate with
Britain until Sudan could stand alone. The present Ansar membership
is about 3 million, including most of the population of Kordofan and
Darfur Provinces and about 60 percent of Blue Nile Province. It is
presently headed by Hadi Mahdi.
In 19+5 the Umma Party was formed as the political arm of the Ansar
brotherhood. Although the head of the Umma Party, Abdallah Khalil,
became Sudan's second Prime Minister in 1956, the party never developed
substantial strength outside the Ansar brotherhood. The Umma Party
has become the most conservative political group in Sudan, more
inclined than any other toward private enterprise and the West, and
more strongly opposed than any other to Egyptian efforts to undermine
the sovereignty of Sudan.
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b. Khatmiyah Brotherhood, People's Democratic Party, and
National Unionist Party
The Khatmiyah religious brotherhood, under the leadership of All
al-Mirghani, has traditionally turned to Egypt for aid to counter
Britain's support of its chief rival, the Ansar. Although the Khatmiyah
group is probably as large as the Ansar, its effectiveness has been
hindered by the diverse tribal and urban background of its membership.
Its political instrument, which suffers from the same handicaps, is the
People's Democratic Party.
The first Prime Minister of Sudan, Ismatil Azhari came to power
as the spokesman of the urban professional class with the support of
the Khatmiyah. His opposition to the Khatmiyah's pro-Egyptian policy,
however, led to the downfall of his government, the decline of his
National Unionist Party, and the temporary ascendancy of Khalil and the
Umma Party.
c. Current Political Activities
The inability of the three political parties to cooperate construc-
tively for the national good and corruption among elected officials led
to the military coup of 1958. The buying of votes had become the normal.
means of passing legislation. This system was used by Egypt to promote
its own ends, and consequently the military justified its action as the
only way to preserve Sudanese independence.
One of the first decrees issued by the military regime banned all
political organizations; the Ansar and Khatmiyah, being religious brother-
hoods rather than political parties, were not affected, and they agreed
to cooperate with the new regime. After three unsuccessful coup attempts
within the army during the first year of the military regime, the Ansar
and National Unionist Party leaders addressed letters to President
Abboud demanding an early return to parliamentary government. The
same two organizations formed an alliance in 1959 as the National Front.
In 1960 members of all former political groups addressed a petition to
the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces calling for popular elections
for a Constituent Assembly. Only the Khatmiyah brotherhood, among the
major civilian political forces, did not take part in opposition
activities. The Ansar brotherhood, now under the leadership of Hadi
Mahdi, assumed the leadership of the opposition. Under this pressure
President Abboud's military government announced plans in November 1961
for a gradual return to constitutional government. Continued cooperation
of the Ansar with the government will depend on the degree to which the
government carries out its proposed constitutional reforms.
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d. The Communist Party
The Sudanese Communist Party (SCP), although numerically weak, has
been able to exert considerable influence over other opposition groups.
Before the military coup, the SCP was strong in the trade unions and
student organizations. After seizing power the military regime banned
all trade unions and jailed the principal Communists. The government
is maintaining strict surveillance over suspected Communist activities
and recently raided the central printing operation of the SCP in Omdurman.
In spite of repression the SCP is still active, mostly in the cities
and towns. It receives some financial aid from abroad, but this aid
has been restricted because of the Soviet Union's desire to gain the
good will of the Sudanese government.
The Sudanese Communist Party tactic at present is cooperation with
other opposition groups. It has worked with the National Front and has
made its printing facilities available for the publication of attacks
on the government. The party has managed to seize the initiative in
student demonstrations against the government but lost its dominant
position in student organizations in recent elections. The Communists
have lost influence in the trade unions, which were allowed to form
again in 1960. They did not do well in the 1961 elections for officers
of the Sudan Railway Workers Union, the key labor union in Sudan, winning
only 8 of the 25 seats on the Executive Committee, as compared with 19
in 1958. At a meeting in August 1963, the leaders of 4+3 unions resolved
to expel all Communists from their ranks.
3. Southern Opposition to the Military Regime
Opposition to the present government has also come from the south,
where the authoritarian control by northern Sudanese officials led in
1955 to a mutiny of southern troops against their northern officers.
The parliamentary government attempted to gain the allegiance of the
south with promises of autonomy. The present military government, on
the other hand, has decided to bring about the assimilation of the
south by means of education, economic development, and administrative
integration. Both the parliamentary and the present government have
fostered the advance of Islam among the pagan tribes of the south, and
measures have been taken to discourage Christian missionary work.
All of these policies, however, have failed to lessen the economic
and cultural gap between the north and the south, and reaction against
continuing northern domination has resulted in a southern secessionist
movement under the direction of several political leaders. These
leaders are former members of parliament who from 1953 to 1958 championed
southern autonomy within a Sudanese federation. In January 1961 they
fled to Uganda and declared their determination to gain foreign support
for southern independence. By the end of the year they had been joined
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by nearly all former southern politicians. The secessionist movement is
at present directed by the Sudan African National Union (SAND) (formerly
the Sudan African Closed Districts National Union) under the leadership
of Father Saturnino, Joseph Oduho, and William Deng. In an attempt to
appease this group the government announced an amnesty in February 1963
for all those convicted for the 1955 uprising and for all southerners
who had fled. It is cultivating closer relations with the countries on
its borders to forestall outside support to the dissidents and to pre-
vent illegal border crossings. The visit of the President of Uganda to
Sudan in March 1963 was planned by the Sudanese Government to demonstrate
to the southerners the futility of asking for assistance from this newly
independent country.
In spite of measures taken by the Sudanese Government, the secessionist
movement is gaining strength. It has achieved varying degrees of sympathy
and local support from the peoples of neighboring countries. The govern-
ments of these countries, except possibly Ethiopia, will probably take no
more than token measures in support of Khartoum's efforts to suppress
the movement. Undetermined numbers of secessionist forces are located
within the borders of the Republic of the Congo and the Central African
Republic, probably with the tacit consent of the governments of these
countries. At the same time large numbers of refugees are in Uganda and
Ethiopia, but these are more closely controlled by the security forces
of the countries concerned. Reportedly the dissident forces are col-
lecting arms for use in harassing actions, to which they will resort
should they be unable to achieve their aims by peaceful means. SANU's
precise aims are unknown. At the very least it wants greater autonomy
within Sudan, but more likely it wants self-determination and the forma-
tion of a new independent African nation.
In response to international criticism of its anti-missionary policy
the government issued a statement to the effect that some foreign
missionaries had been expelled from Sudan because their educational
and medical work had been taken over by native Sudanese. It is gen-
erally believed, however, that these expulsions were prompted by what
the government authorities in the capital believed to be opposition on
the part of the missionaries and persons educated by the missionaries
to government policy in the south. The government has stressed repeatedly
that it is not opposed to Christianity as such, but it obviously does not
want to encourage the expansion of Christianity among the pagan popula-
tion, whom it regards as potential converts to Islam.
C. Structure of Government
1. Central Government
Sudan is a highly centralized state administered principally from
Khartoum. Under the parliamentary government, Sudan was ruled according
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to the Transitional Constitution of 1955. It provided for a parliament
consisting of a House of Representatives elected by adult males and a
Senate, which was partially elected. The Council of Ministers, or Cabinet,
was responsible to parliament, and the judiciary was established as an
independent branch of the government. When the military seized power
in 1958, it suspended the Transitional Constitution; the civilian
administration and the judiciary were subordinated to military administra-
tors appointed at all levels of the government.
Since President Abboud has seldom used the dictatorial powers given
to him, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has actually functioned
as a governing committee. Its membership has changed frequently because
of conflicts within the military leadership. The present membership
includes hostile factions led by Maj. Gen. Hasan Bashir Nasir and Maj.
Gen. Mohammad Talat Farid. Although Farid ranks second to Abboud and
has been named Acting President during Abboud's foreign visits, Bashir
Nasir wields greater actual power as Deputy Commander in Chief of the
Armed Forces. Abboud has exercised rather indecisive leadership of the
Supreme Council by acting as mediator between these two factions. Con-
flicts within the Supreme Council have tended to interfere with the
making of national policy.
The Council of Ministers has been retained by the military regime
as its primary administrative organ. Every member of the Supreme Council
of the Armed Forces holds at least one position in the Council of Ministers,
thus assuring military control of the administrative process. None of
the civilian members of the Council of Ministers was prominent politically
during the parliamentary period, and all are closely controlled by the
military members of the Council.
Provincial and local administration is the responsibility of the
Ministries of Interior and Local Government. These and other ministries,
as well as special government agencies, provide for basic public ser-
vices and administer major sectors of the economy.
2. Provincial Government
During the period of parliamentary government the governors of the
nine provinces were civil servants responsible to the Minister of
Interior. The military regime retained the civil governors but also
designated a parallel echelon of military governors who were authorized
to intervene in the provincial administration and overrule the civil
governor. Military channels parallel the civil administration down
to the basic units of local government.
In 1960 the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces adopted the Pro-
vincial Administration Act to foster local self-government. Provincial
Councils were granted substantial authority, particularly in initiating
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public works projects. The councils are presided over by an appointed
government representative, who is usually a military officer; the un-
appointed members may be locally elected but only from among those
nominated by the government representative. The central government
retains the right to withhold confirmation of those elected and to veto
acts of the Provincial Councils.
3. Local Government
The structure of local government, below the provincial level, varies
widely from one region to another. The Sudanese Government has followed
the British policy of encouraging a gradual evolution toward a system
in which a rural or municipal council elects its own chairman and per-
forms local services, such as health, education, utilities, and agricul-
tural development. According to the Local Government Act of November
1962 no more than half the members of local councils in the less advanced
areas are to be appointed by the government, and no more than one-third
are to be appointed in other areas. All members of the councils are to
serve for 1i years. Elections for 84 local councils were completed on
1 May 1963.
i. Judiciary
The organization of the courts remains as it was under the Transitional
Constitution. Tribal courts have original jurisdiction throughout most
of the rural areas of Sudan. Decisions taken in the tribal courts can be
appealed to government civil courts. The Sharia courts administer the
religious law of Islam for Moslems in such matters as marriage, divorce,
and inheritance. The civil courts handle other cases according to
judicial codes enacted by the British.
In November 1958 the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces assumed
authority to appoint the Chief Justice, the Chief Qadi (who supervises
the administration of the Sharia law), and the judges of the highest
civil and Sharia courts. Since November 1958, sedition and all other
offenses against the state as well as offenses relating to public
tranquility can be tried by court martial, but few civilians actually
have been given a military trial.
5. Civil Service
The Sudanese civil service under the Condominium was efficient, had
high morale, and was professionally competent. Its efficiency was
seriously impaired with the achievement of independence, when British
subjects -- who had held virtually all controlling positions in the
civil service -- were forced to resign. More recently, under the mili-
tary regime, senior civil servants have been dismissed on grounds of
disloyalty. Rumors of further dismissals as well as the subordination
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of civil servants to military officers have been demoralizing. Never-
theless, the regime endorses the British concept of good administration
and has tried to avoid disruption of administrative functions while
imposing stricter control. Professional training of Sudanese officials
has been expanded through UN assistance. Many Sudanese have also been
sent abroad for training under US and other foreign aid programs.
1. Sudanese Neutralism
The primary objectives of Sudanese foreign policy are to maintain
Sudanese independence, obtain foreign aid required for economic develop-
ment, and promote foreign markets for Sudanese cotton. Neutralism has
been accepted as the basis of Sudanese foreign policy. Sudan maintains
diplomatic relations with Bloc countries as well as with the West. The
military regime has avoided alliances that might imply Sudanese alignment
with either major power bloc or with any of the emerging blocs in Africa.
Sudan joined the Arab League in 1956 and sent a contingent of troops
under League auspices to Kuwait in the fall of 1961 to prevent the
attempted Iraqi takeover. Otherwise it has tried to avoid involvement
in conflicts among the Arab states.
To avoid economic dependence on any one country or bloc, the pre-
sent regime has made an effort to broaden foreign markets and to obtain
foreign economic assistance from various sources. Before the coup,
Sudan relied primarily on the United Kingdom for assistance in its
developmental program. By 1961 the United States was providing a
major portion of all foreign assistance. West Germany has recently
been playing a more important part in assistance to Sudan.
The government also has accepted some assistance from non-Western
sources. Since 1959 Yugoslavia has provided a broad range of assistance
including equipment and training for the Sudanese navy and air force.
It has also agreed to conduct a survey for the improvement of the port
of Suakin, President Abboud's home town. The first Soviet technical
assistance program for Sudan was concluded in 1961. Since then trade
agreements have been signed with several Bloc countries. Sudan has
received promises of financial aid for its new ten-year plan from both
East and West.
2. Relations with Egypt
The historical links between Sudan and Egypt, as well as their
mutual dependence on the Nile, have made the relationship between
these two countries extremely important. Although the threat of
Egyptian subversion was one of the major reasons for the military
coup, the Abboud regime has been able to maintain cordial relations
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with Egypt. The Nile Waters Agreement of November 1959 won public
congratulations from the leaders of the Sudanese political parties as
well as from the heads of Ansar and Khatmiyah brotherhoods. Sudan
disagreed with Egypt over the Congolese question, however, and refused
to allow Egypt to supply the Gizenga regime in the Congo through Sudan.
Sudan is dependent on Egypt in a number of ways. It depends on
Egyptian markets for selling livestock and other products. About
52,000 Sudanese are employed in Egypt, and their expulsion by Egypt
would bring economic hardship to Sudan. Egyptian influence is felt at
all levels of society in northern Sudan, including the army and civil
service. Although the military regime has curtailed the spread of
Egyptian propaganda, Egyptian teachers in Sudan still exert considerable
influence. The extent of this influence was apparent in the student
demonstrations that began in Egyptian-run schools in February 1961,
which protested the murder of former Congo Premier Patrice Lumumba.
3. Relations With Other African States
Good relations between Sudan and the African states on its borders
are especially important to the Sudanese Government because of the
southern secessionist movement. The Prime Minister of Uganda, Milton
Obote, visited Sudan in March 1963 and agreed to try to prevent illegal
border crossings from southern Sudan to Uganda. Southern secessionists
also hope to find a refuge in Kenya. In an effort to prevent such refuge
Sudan had provided assistance to Jomo Kenyatta, now Prime Minister of
Kenya. Sudan has always supported the Central Congolese Government and
the efforts of the United Nations against the secessionist Katanga
regime. In this way it hopes to help establish a strong Congo that
will cooperate with Sudan against Sudanese secessionists.
Sudan has taken part in a nonpartisan way in the various pan-
African organizations, and it hopes to have the African Development
Bank established in Khartoum. Sudanese policy toward Africa as a
whole is, according to the Sudanese Foreign Minister, to support African
independence movements, to free the African continent from nuclear
weapons and foreign military bases, and to promote African economic
and other forms of cooperation. Sudan was a signatory to the charter
of the Organization of African. Unity drafted in Addis Ababa in May 1963,
which established a loosely knit consultative organization. It agreed
to take part in the organization's economic and diplomatic boycott of
Portugal and South Africa.
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CHRONOLOGY
1820
1885
Muhammad All, Ottoman governor of Egyptf
invades and occupies Sudan.
The Mahdi revolts against Egyptian rule.
1899-1955 As the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, the country
is administered by British officials.
195+
1956
1958
1959
1960
1961
1963
Local self-government is granted with a
British Governor-General responsible for
foreign affairs.
Sudan becomes independent on 1 January and
joins the United Nations.
A group of army officers under the leader-
ship of Ibrahim Abboud seizes control of
the government on 17 November.
Sudan signs a treaty with Egypt over the
division of the Nile waters.
Civilians petition Abboud for restoration
of democratic constitutional government.
President Abboud announces program for
gradual return to civilian constitutional
government.
Elections to Local Councils are completed
on 1 May.
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Chief of State:
President of the Supreme Council of the
Armed Forces:
*Prime Minister; Minister of Defense;
Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces:
*Presidential Affairs; Deputy Commander
in Chief of the Armed Forces:
*Interior:
*Local Government:
*Commerce, Industry, and Supply:
Communications:
Information and Labor:
Public Works:
*Agriculture:
Irrigation and Hydroelectric Power:
Animal Resources:
*Education:
Finance and Economics:
Foreign Affairs and Mineral Resources:
Health:
Former Prime Ministers:
ABBOUD, Ibrahim (Lt. Gen.)
ABBOUD, Ibrahim (Lt. Gen.)
NASIR, Hasan Bashir (Maj.
Gen . )
URWAH, Muhammad Ahmad
(Brigadier)
al-BAHARI, Ahmad Majdhub
(Maj. Gen.)
al-AMIN al Hajj, Magbul
(Brigadier)
HUSAYN, Sulayman
UTHMAN, Muhammad Nasir
ARBAB, Ziyadah Uthman
FARID, Ahmad Rida (Maj.
Gen.)
al-MANNA, Makki
DENG TENG, Santino
FARID, Muhammad Talat
(Maj. Gen.)
AHMAD, Abd al-Majid
KHAYR, Ahmad
ZAKI, Ahmad All
al-AZHARI, Ismail
KHALIL, Abdallah
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Ansar Sect, Head:
Khatmiyah Sect, Head:
Communist Party, Secretary General:
Sudan African National Union leaders:
al-MAHDI, al-Hadi
al-MCRGHANI, All
al-MAHJUB, Abd al-Khaliq
Father SATURNINO
ODUHO, Joseph
DENG, William
* Member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Basic historical and political information on Sudan is available
in the Special Warfare Area Handbook for the Republic of the Sudan
(1960), anal the National Intelligence Survey 5 , Chapter I, Section
15 (1962). Information on current political developments and govern-
ment policy is available in the publications of the Sudanese Ministry
of Information and Labor: Sudan (monthly newsmagazine) and The Sudan
Daily (newspaper).
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III. Physical Geography
A. Introduction
All of Sudan can be considered a transition zone, nearly a million
square miles in extent, between the deserts of northeast Africa and the
forests of the tropics. In this transition zone distinctly different
physical features merge with each other. Desert, swamp, grassland,
forest, coast, mountain, and plain provide a variety of landscapes.
Even the stretch of the Nile that traverses the country is far from
uniform. From the wooded highlands in the south to the true deserts
of the north, Sudan gradually becomes lower, drier, and more barren.
For convenience in using this Handbook, Sudan is divided into five
natural regions that are of significance to a person on the ground (see
Map 38094 - Terrain and Regions). The Desert Region comprises most of
the northern third of the country. The Semi eser Tegion, which receives
more rainfall, forms a relatively wide transitional band between the
desert and the Red Sea on the east and between the desert and the wooded
regions to the south. Extending across the country from about 11?N to
about 14?N is the Thin Woodland Savanna Region, a gently undulating plain
some 2,000 to 3,000 feet high. South of this woodland savanna are two
other regions -- (1) the northward extensions of the upland forests of
northern Congo and eastern Central African Republic, which form the
Wooded Upland Region and (2) the huge permanent swamp area that is overfed
by seasonally flooding rivers and expands greatly in size during the
season of the heavy White Nile flow. In this Handbook., this swampy area
is called the Seasonal Flood Region. The boundaries between these five
regions are not clear cut but instead are broad transition belts as much
as 50 miles wide that generally are hard to identify from the ground.
B. Desert Region
The northern third of Sudan is true desert and is one of the driest
areas in the world. Technically the average annual rainfall is 4 inches
or less, but much of the area may not have any rain for several years at
a time. The sun is hot at all seasons, and in summer it is scorching.
Even goats can't find a living away from the Nile, and consequently few
nomads roam this northern area. Summer nights may be barely comfortable,
with temperatures dropping below 80?F by sunrise; and in winter the lowest
temperatures may drop as low as the 50's. Most of the time the air is
extremely dry, and even on the coolest nights there is no dew. There is
much loose sand and fine soil on the surface of the ground, and the air
is dusty whenever the wind blows, particularly in late afternoon. Fine
gritty dust is carried through tightly shut doors and windows, through
clothing, into mouths, and into machinery. Dust is a normal part of
desert living.
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The Desert Region is comprised of three subregions that have appreci-
able differences. East of the Nile is the Nubian Desert. The area west
of the Nile is part of the large Libyan Desert, except for the area in the
loop of the river between Al Dabbah and Omdurman, which is called the
Bayuda Desert.
Drop sites unobservable by native population are readily available,
but locating them in terms of natural features alone may be difficult
because one wadi bed or one hill resembles another. The sandy portion of
a wadi makes for softer landing and easier digging for a cache but may
be scoured out by the next flood -- a week or a decade hence. Selection
of a landing site should be made from the ground. A clay plain, windswept
free of sand, is the most desirable surface, but it may contain. small
loose stones that are difficult to detect from the air and require removal
by hand. Locating such a site would be fairly easy in the parts of the
Libyan Desert that are away from the major sand areas and also would be
easy in the loop of the Nubian Desert west of Abu Hamad. In the rest of
the Nubian Desert and in the Bayuda Desert, which are hillier and are
carved by wadies, less flatland is available for landing sites.
2. Nubian Desert
The Nubian Desert is made up of the western slopes of the Red Sea Hills
that are below about 4,000 feet and the extensive plains into which they
merge on the west. Although the western slopes are gentle, in some places
the wadies have carved deeply, making steep banks and small hills. Many
small granite masses and a few large ones rise above the plains on both
sides of the Abu Hamad -- Wadi Halfa rail line. The highest is Jabel Kuror,
which is 4,000 feet in elevation -- some 3,000 feet above the surrounding plain.
The Nubian Desert has no oases, but water is available from the
11,000-gallon storage tank at Railway Station No. 6 halfway between Abu
Hamad and Wadi Half a. There are no permanent wadies. The Atbara River
contains water from June to November and has a very heavy flow in August
and September. Other watercourses flow only after the rare desert thunder-
storms. Wadi Allagi and Wadi Gabgaba flow northwestward and join the Nile
about 100 miles across the Egyptian border. Shallow wells dug at low places
in Wadi Gabgaba once supported a caravan route between Abu Hamad and Korosko
on the Nile in Egypt. What sparse vegetation there is -- bunchgrass, low
desert scrub, and a few thorny acacia -- clings to low or sheltered places
where roots can tap underground moisture. Most of the desert surface,
however, is made up of sand dunes or drift sand or of clay plains with
stones and large rock masses and has no vegetation.
Cross-country movement on foot would be handicapped by the intense
heat, by sand areas, and possibly by small hills or steep slopes that would
have to be circumnavigated. Wheeled vehicles could traverse selected areas
of the plains in the west more easily and for greater distances than they
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Figure 1. The desert south of Wadi Halfa (21?56'N-31?20'E).
Roads here are unnecessary. Note truck tracks.
Figure 2. Low hills near the Nile in the vicinity of Dongola
(19?1o'N-3o?29'E).
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could cross the rougher wadi country in the east. In the rough eastern
hills, however, concealment from ground observation and cover from small-
arms fire are possible in the lee of hills and wadi banks, whereas in the
west there is little such protection. For brief periods, small groups
might be concealed from air observation in the long shadows of morning
or evening or in the sparse wadi vegetation. In the Nubian Desert almost
no civilians live more that a few miles from the Nile, but caravans move
across the desert from time to time.
3. Libyan Desert
West of the Nile and the Bayuda Desert lies the southeast corner of
the vast Libyan Desert. In Sudan it is largely a plain between 1,000
and 2,500 feet in elevation, with occasional small hills and for the
most part very gentle slopes. Jebel Uweinat, in the extreme northwest,
reaches 6,100 feet. Wadi Howar enters the region from the southwest at
about 2,400 feet, and all other known elevations are lower. Some 90
miles west of the Nile at Dongola, Jebel Abyad stands out as a low pla-
teau about 60 miles long, oriented north-south and fading westward into
the plain. Low elevations and lack of rainfall have kept most of this
area from being carved by wadies. The surface is largely covered with
sand flats or dunes, but some parts have hard, rock-strewn plains or
small rock outcrops. On the west, Wadi Howar cuts through a large feature-
less sand plain; and on the northern border near 280E a wide area of dunes
extends into Egypt.
Away from the Nile the Libyan Desert is the most barren and desolate
region of Sudan, particularly in the north. Vegetation can exist only
in low spots of the few wadi beds and along underground drainage lines
where moisture comes fairly near the surface. Even in these locations it
consists only of scattered tufts of grass, small plants, and an occasional
acacia bush. In the extreme southern part of this subregion (the upper
part of Wadi Howar and eastward), there is a greater possibility of rain-
fall, and in some years there is enough grass to support the sheep and
goats of nomadic people from the south for part of the winter season--
sometimes as late as February. This area is called the Jizzu. Camels are
not suited to the stony ground and they require more food than is available.
Travel on foot or by motor vehicle is hampered chiefly by the large
proportion of sand, either flats or dunes, and by the almost total lack
of cover and concealment. Water is the major problem. Few wadies are
moist enough to provide water when wells are dug. Notable exceptions are
Wadi Howar; Wadi el Malik, which forms the southeastern boundary of the
subregion; and Wadi el Q.'ab, near the Nile west of Dongola. Water may
be available in a few old wells around the foot of Jebel Uweinat. Along
the Forty Days Road (Darb el Arab'in), a former caravan route from Darfur
to Asyut in Egypt, are four small oases. They do not have a settled pop-
ulation as do the large oases of Egypt; they can support only a few people
and an occasional military garrison.
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4. Bayuda Desert
This subregion is bounded on the east by the loop of the Nile
between Omdurman and Al Dabbah and on the west by Wadi Malik. Because
it lies in the southern part of the Desert Region and is nearly
surrounded by a permanent water body, it has a little more grass than
most of the region. It is sometimes called a steppe desert, or grassy
desert. Wadi Malik, Wadi Mugaddam, Khor Abu Dom, and several other
small watercourses run to the Nile from the slightly higher land north
and northwest of Omdurman. They flow only after a rain, but many of
them contain wells that have been dug and that support flocks or a
meager agriculture, particularly in the south and near the Nile.
Probably more people live here than in the Nubian or Libyan Deserts
because they can take advantage of the thin steppe-desert pastures for
a short time and than return to the Nile or to a major wadi. The
subregion has considerable rough rock land and is dissected by wadies,
and the surface features resemble those of the eastern Nubian Desert.
Most of the land lies between 1,000 and 1,600 feet above sea level, and
local differences in elevation are not great. West of Wadi Mugaddam
the surface is less rough and more sandy. The area would not be
particularly difficult to traverse on foot, and river water is relatively
nearer than elsewhere in the Desert Region. Motor vehicles must use
routes that are selected to avoid the small jebels and deep sand. Most
wadi banks are low enough to be negotiated by motor vehicles. Cover
and concealment are near minimal.
5. The Nile River
The Nile is reliable; it always contains water. Wherever there is
fertile soil between the river and the desert, a green bordering strip
of cultivated crops or naturally seeded grasses and trees supports a
relatively dense population. The date palm is most common, but there
also are several other trees that are useful for food, fuel, or
construction materials, and matting. In some places the river flows
through a narrow hard-rock trench and is broken by cataracts. Here
there are few riverine terraces. In other places the riverbed is wide,
and broad flood plains have been developed on one or both sides. Even
so, the habitable strip is rarely more than a mile and a half wide.
In southern and eastern Sudan and in the countries beyond, the rains
of spring and summer swell the tributaries of the Nile between June and
December. During the peak flow of August-September the Nile below
Atbara may carry 12 times as much water as it does during the low-water
period from March through May.
For more than half its course in the Desert Region the bed of the
Nile is large enough to accommodate the yearly flood; but between
Sabaloka and Atbara (the Shendi reach) and between Karima and Kerma (the
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Figure 3. Fifth Cataract of the Nile during low water
(18046'N-33e34'E). Even at the water's edge natural
vegetation is scant.
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Merowe-Dongola reach), several sections of old riverbed flank the
present-day Nile. These basins act as escape valves, receiving the
excess flow and later losing most of it through drainage back to the
river. In a fairly good year some 80,000 acres of basin are inundated.
Variations in the Nile flood from year to year are so great, however,
that the figure may be 10,000 or 110,000 acres. Some of these natural
basins have been converted into areas of perennial irrigation where
diesel pumps are used as well as the old-fashioned ox-powered saqia,
or water wheel.
C. Semidesert Region
1. General
On the edge of the true desert is a zone of more reliable rainfall
that produces grass enough for animals on migration but not enough for
settled agriculture. This zone is used chiefly for nomadic herding.
Agriculture is limited to those areas that are near a natural or
manmade source of ground water.
Rain falls between June and September, but the amount is unreliable,
varying from an average of 4 inches in the north to 16 inches in the
south. This produces a vegetation ranging from widely scattered
bunchgrass and almost no shrubs or trees in the north to continuous
grass cover or grass and thin thorny woodland in the south.
The Red Sea Hills are included in the Semidesert Region. Although
the area north of Suakin receives less than 4 inches of rainfall, grazing
is possible because the rainfall is concentrated in wadies and the
moisture is increased by fog and humid air from the Red Sea. On the
immediate coast some rain falls in winter also, but none of the watercourses
in the Red Sea Hills are permanent. The Semidesert continues down the
western slopes of the Red Sea Hills to an elevation between 4,000 and
3,000 feet. It includes the Blue Nile from the Sennar Dam to Khartoum
and the White Nile from near Kosti to the Sixth Cataract (the Sabaloka
Gorge, some 60 miles north of Khartoum). From the river westward the
Semidesert Region becomes somewhat narrower and extends between the
Jizzu of the Libyan Desert and the Jebel Marra. On the southern border
of the region, about the latitude of El Fasher and Kosti, there are more
trees and permanent settlements. East of the Blue Nile from Sennar to
Khor Gash the southern border follows the north edge of sedentary
population. The railroad closely skirts this part of the southern
boundary of the region.
Except for the Red Sea Hills and western Darfur Province, the
Semidesert Region is the chief camel-raising area of Sudan. Camels
can travel long distances between watering places and therefore can
fit into the local pattern of migration between areas of seasonal grazing.
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During the summer, many depressions, khors, and wadies along the edges
of the desert contain pools of water for days or weeks after a rain,
and in less favored wadies the underground water is near the surface.
At this time grazing is good and the more sedentary natives also do a
little farming. In winter the surface water and shallow wells dry up,
animals must turn to browsing on bushes, and it may be a long time
between drinks for both people and animals. More or less permanent
wells have been dug at the base of some of the hills, as in the Meidob
Hills, where there is also a crater with interior springs and a small
salt lake. Ten miles west of Bara a series of natural clay-lined
depressions between sand dunes extends northward for about 40 miles.
In these depressions water is reached at 10 feet or less, and wells
support a local commercial agriculture. A similar but deeper line of
underground watercourses immediately north of Bara provides the town
with water.
Drop sites and landing sites that are free of scrub and small trees
can be more easily selected in the northern (drier) part of the region
than the southern, except in the Red Sea Hills where more of the land
is sloping and cut up than elsewhere. The most extensive areas of
flat land are between the Atbara River and the White Nile.
No considerable portion of the region is consistently uninhabited,
and there are certain to be people near sources of water most of the
time. Conversely, to forecast the probable avoidance of an area by a
nomadic group requires a knowledge of current local rainfall conditions.
Minimum concealment for small numbers is available near scrub and small
trees growing along watercourses, especially in the southern part of
the region. West of the White Nile, travel on foot or by wheeled
vehicle would be hampered more by the relatively small but frequent
sand areas than by slopes or vegetation, which can be skirted.. In
the Gezira and the Butana there are few obstructions to movement, other
than the three major watercourses. The use of vehicles in the Red Sea
Hills is impractical and movement on foot over roundabout routes is
somewhat rough.
2. Red Sea Hills and Coast
The Red Sea Hills rise to over 7,000 feet in the north and over
9,000 feet at the Eritrean (Ethiopian) border, averaging perhaps
5,000 feet in elevation. Slopes are angular and jagged, and the
crest of the hills is only 30 to 40 miles inland, thus producing an
eastern face that is considerably shorter and steeper than the western.
All of the hill country has been carved by wadies, but south of the
Baraka Delta the highland is broader and the surface is particularly
rugged. In summer the Khor Baraka flows from the Eritrean Highlands
northward across this rough terrain to the Baraka Delta on the Red Sea.
The Khor Gash and the Atbara River flow northwestward from the highlands
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onto the plains north of Kassala. From the western slopes inland from
Port Sudan, Wadi Amur leads westward to the Nile. Water flows in the
Wadi Odib and the Wadi Amur only after a heavy rain. The coastal plain
east of the mountains varies in width from about 10 miles in the north
to 35 miles at the Baraka Delta. Port Sudan (population 50,000) and
four small villages are the principal population clusters on the coast.
Fishing, salt processing, agriculture, and herding in winter are carried
on outside the villages. Nearly all the coastline is fringed with coral
reefs, some of them covered with shifting sandbanks 1 to 6 feet below
the surface. An outer reef extends from a quarter of a mile to several
miles offshore. Native boats use established loading places opposite
breaks in the reefs. There are several beaches more than 900 feet
long. The most suitable one for landings is near Dunqunab and
Trinkitat. Generally, the beaches are composed of firm sand with
varying amounts of coral, rock, and mud. They experience little surf
or tide. Inland on the coastal plain, small rocky hills and shallow
khors provide minimal concealment in an area that can be easily
observed from the hills.
3. The Butana
The Butana is a flat to gently undulating plain averaging some
1,500 to 2,000 feet in elevation located entirely within the Semidesert
Region between the Blue Nile and the Atbara River. Its western half is
fairly sandy, and in the center and east are small isolated hard-rock
hills. The grazing, however, is generally very good. Only the Blue
Nile carries water all year. The Rahad and Dinder Rivers, tributaries
of the Blue Nile, are similar to the Atbara. Because of rains on the
Ethiopian highlands, all three come to life in summer, flood in August
and September, and cease to flow on the surface in winter. Tribes
living on the periphery of the Butana therefore are able to be partly
nomadic and partly settled, whereas those in central Butana are entirely
nomadic.
4. Areas of Irrigated Agriculture
Between the Blue Nile and the White Nile north of Sennar is a flat
plain called the Gezira. It is famous because nearly a third of it,
close to 2 million acres, has been irrigated by gravity systems from
the Blue Nile and made to grow cotton -- Sudan's chief source of
income -- under the direction of the government's Gezira Board.
Elsewhere in the Gezira, agriculture is carried on by pumping water
from the rivers and by building low ridges in the shape of a V or U,
a foot or two high, to hold and concentrate the rainwater. Large
numbers of sheep and goats are raised here, particularly in the west
away from the gravity irrigation scheme, as well as on both sides of
the Gezira, because of the nearness to water and markets. The two other
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extensive areas of irrigated agriculture in Sudan, other than the
strips along the Nile, also are located in the Semidesert Region.
For 70 miles north of Kassala, on both sides of the railroad, a
series of canals and wiers controls the Gash River flood. Near the
coast the Baraka River floodwaters irrigate a smaller delta around
Tokar. As in the Gezira, cotton growing is the chief activity in
both areas, but the floods vary so much in amount and duration that
the crop is unreliable. However, the grazing is usually very good
nearby.
5. West of the White Nile
West of the Nile, the land generally is some 2,000 to 3,000 feet
above sea level. A few hills are higher, notably those 100 miles west
of Khartoum and those in western Darfur, where elevations reach 4,000
to 7,000 feet north and northwest of El Fasher. Except for these
hills, most of this part of the region is a gently to moderately
undulating plain. Wadies lace most of the plain, but they contain
water for only a few hours at a time and not necessarily every year.
No major drainage system has developed and many of the wadies just
peter out in the sands. The largest are Wadi Malik, leading northward
at about 29?E, and Wadi Howar on the northwest edge of the region.
Between the White Nile and El Fasher the southern part of the region
has fewer wadies because the rains sink into the sands without forming
rivulets. Some of the wadi banks may be steep, but they are
D. "Thin Woodland Savanna Region
1. General
This region is essentially a gently undulating plain about 2,000
to 3,000 feet high that is broken by two major hill areas and occasional
small rock outcrops. In the east and southeast the surface material is
largely clay, whereas in the center and west it contains more sand, but
there are few areas of soft dune sand. Temperatures are similar to
those in the desert with "winter" highs in the 90's and no frost on the
plains. In spring and summer the highest temperatures are well over
100?F, except during the July-September period when the rains are
heaviest. Precipitation ranges from about 16 inches in the north to
more than 30 inches in the south -- enough to make the tree growth more
important than the grasses and to provide a water supply that generally
is fairly reliable. Only the White Nile and the Blue Nile have water
flowing all year, but the many wadies of the woodland savanna have flowing
or standing water for a longer period of the year than wadies in drier
regions to the north. It follows that this region has a relatively high
density of rural population and that the majority of the people are not
nomadic but live in permanent settlements. The northern boundary of the
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Figure 4. Flooded land along the Blue Nile south of Kosti
during the rainy season.
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Thin Woodland Savanna runs just north of the line of permanent
settlements that extends roughly east-west across Sudan, and the
southern boundary borders the Seasonal Flood Region and, in the far
west, the Wooded Upland Region.
Walking through this area would be relatively easy except for
traversing Jebel Marra and the Nuba Hills which would be difficult
but not impossible. However, a small party would be easily observed
by the native population and would find concealment only in small
clusters of trees in the southern part of the region or along
watercourses. Through observation on the ground, suitable areas for
landing sites can be found in many places, but they may require the
removal of a few bushes or small trees. Satisfactory drop sites
are available almost anywhere outside the two mountain areas.
2. The Clay Plains
The eastern third of the Thin Woodland Savanna -- the part east
of the Nuba Hills -- is a gently undulating plain made up of fine
clay and silt. These are fertile soil materials and people settle
wherever there is enough water for growing crops. Most of the
settled population lives along the White Nile, Blue Nile, Dinder,
Rahad, and Atbara Rivers; few people live in the areas between the
rivers. From Gedaref, Singa, and Kosti southwards the government is
building many hafirs (small manmade reserviors) to improve the water
supply, and two small mechanized crop production schemes have been
started just west of the Gedaref Ridge, about 2,000 feet in elevation.
Kosti, at an elevation of 1,300 feet, is the lowest point on the clay
plains.
Some parts of these plains are not suitable for permanent settlement.
Many areas along the Dinder and Rahad Rivers where the clay soil holds
the overflow water are poorly drained and retain stagnant water.
These areas are infested with insects even in the dry season. Few
people live near them. The west bank of the White Nile has a very
gentle slope, and therefore floods extend for a considerable distance
westward. Few villages are located here because of this fluctuation
of water level. Such country is best suited to nomads.
Enough rain falls in this region to permit those who lead a
nomadic life to move along established routes. These people do not
require constant advice from outposts on grass conditions elsewhere.
They migrate eastward and westward from both the White Nile and the
Blue Nile, northward from the Dinder-Rahad area out of the region
into the Butana, and southward from the Sennar-Rabak area out of the
region to the Machar Marshes. They are not constantly on the move
but instead spend weeks or months in a general area and then return
to their starting point in a one-year cycle. Those going southward
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return in a hurry when the spring rains bring clouds of flies that bite
men and animals.
Western Darfur Province presents two rather different landscapes.
South and west of the Geneina-El Fasher-Nyala track is the volcanic
mass called Jebel Marra -- a 90-mile ridge aligned north-south and
about 5,000 feet in elevation. The plain around it averages about
3,000 feet. At the southern end is a volcanic cone that reaches
10,000 feet in elevation and contains two small lakes. Considerable
rain is brought by the prevailing southwest wind of summer, perhaps
as much as 40 inches per year in the mountains, and all sides of the
Jebel are riddled with wadies. In winter there is neither rain nor
flowing water in the wadies, but a substantial water supply remains
in the pools and wells.
Jebel Marra is populated by both settlers and nomads. Villages
are located on well-drained, stony sites half a mile from the wadi
bed, and usually on a southern exposure for protection from the
cool northeast winds and possible frost of winter. The best farmlands
are the nearby silty terraces and flood. plains, but individual
terraced farms may be found as high as 9,000 feet. Villagers keep
few domestic animals other than donkeys for transportation and a
small breed of cattle. Nomads find the grasses good for grazing,
especially for cattle and sheep. Sycamores and tall acacia trees
grow along the watercourses.
The El Fasher-Geneina track crosses Jebel Marra at a low spot
near the northern end. Beyond the northern end is a confused or
badlands type of terrain that includes small isolated volcanic cones.
It is part of the Semidesert Region. Here the water supplies are
inadequate and the grasses thin. It is the least attrative section
of western Darfur.
The Thin Woodland Savanna Region includes another group of
hills, the Nuba Hills, centered about a hundred miles west of the
White Nile at Renk. The surrounding plain rises gradually from
1,300 feet at the Nile to about 2,000 feet on the eastern and
southern sides of the hills, but on the west and northwest sides the
general level is over 2,000 feet. The Nuba Hills are formed by
dozens of hard granite hill masses, most of them shaped like a dome
or sugarloaf with bare top and steep sides and surrounded by an
irregular apron of small boulders. These granite masses may be the
size of a small village or may cover several square miles. Some are
so old and worn down that the top is covered with soil which supports
the usual grass and scattered trees of the countryside. As on Jebel
Marra the rainfall is heavier and more reliable than on the plain, and
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water is available in pools and wells during the dry season. In
addition, water can be obtained from the many hafirs that have been
provided by the government.
The inhabitants of the Nuba Hills are mainly farmers, tilling the
silty red loam at the base of a hill or near a wadi bed -- always
near a source of water. Sheep, goats, pigs, and donkeys are commonly
raised by settled families. Nomadism is relatively unimportant here.
1. The Qoz
The Arabic term gooz or gawz is used for the type of terrain that
comprises the "big middle" of the Thin Woodland Savanna Region. It
consists of large expanses of rolling sandy ground, including dunes.
Some sand is soft and drifting, but most of it has been sufficiently
consolidated on the surface so that men and animals can walk on it;
but vehicles break through and find it hard going. The usual vegetation.
of grass, scrub, and low scattered trees grow in this sandy area as
they do in the rest of the region but the soil holds water so poorly
that hafirs can be effective only in selected areas of high clay content,
chiefly in the south, and more reliance is placed on deep bore wells.
The Qoz extends from the White Nile westward, north of the Nuba Hills,
and includes El Fasher and Nyala, but not westernmost Darfur. West
of 290E the southern boundary of the Qoz coincides with the boundary
of the Thin Woodland Savanna Region. On the southern margins of the
Qoz the sand thins out and clay soils become predominant.
Both nomadism and sedentary agriculture are important in the Qoz.
In the north, tribes that are wholly nomadic spend the rainy season
in the Semidesert Region and retreat to the better savanna grasses
to carry through the last of the dry season. On the southern margins
of the Qoz the Baggara cattle-herding tribes move southward in the
dry season to the low moist clay plains near Bahr el Arab and retreat
northward (with the advancing rain and flies) to spend the rainy
season in the Qoz.
Settlements are located throughout the Qoz but are concentrated
in the center, in the Umm Ruwaba-En Nahub area. Not only the presence
of a reliable water supply but also the Nyala railroad, the roads to
El Fasher, and the belt of wild gum arabic trees (hashab or acacia)
have contributed to this concentration. Water resources are
extensively exploited to support the present population. El Obeid
formerly had a plentiful supply of local ground water, but now it
must be supplemented by water pumped from sources several miles away.
El Fasher has been able to save runoff water in storage dams. The
yearly flash floods of Khor Abu Habl are utilized in an irrigation
scheme of 5,000 acres. Villages are rarely located more than half a
day's travel away from the emergency water supply.
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E. Wooded Upland Region
1. General
The Wooded Upland Region in southern Sudan is a distinctly
different part of the country. Not only is it higher, wetter,
and covered with medium-thick forest, but it also is in "the South,"
a backward area inhabited almost entirely by Negroes. The region
includes three-fourths of Bahr al Ghazal and Equatoria Provinces,
which together with Upper Nile Province make up the non-Arab half
of Sudan. This southern area looks and feels like part of forested
"Black Africa," but nevertheless it is run by the Arab government
in Khartoum.
2. West of the White Nile
Most of the Wooded Upland Region lies west of the White Nile
and is fairly uniform. The international boundaries with Republic
of the Congo and Central African Republic lie on the Congo-Nile
divide, which is here about 2,500 to 3,500 feet high. The boundary
between Sudan and Uganda runs from the eastern end of the divide to
the White Nile at Nimule. In the vicinity of the divide and on both
sides of it the land is slightly rolling and slopes gently downward
to the southwest and northeast. The many watercourses on the Sudan
side of the border run northward or northeastward, flowing most of
the year but being reduced to a trickle or to surface pools or to
percolating through the soil near the surface from December through
February in the east or from November through March in the northeast.
A variety of fish become concentrated in pools during the dry season.
In some cases they are so thick they need not be caught but can be
literally "pushed" out of the water with branches.
The long northeastern boundary of the region (west of the Nile)
runs approximately along the average high-water mark of the Seasonal
Flood Region, between 1,300 and 1,400 feet in elevation, but this part
of the country is so nearly flat that differences of only a few inches
in the height of the annual flood can move the actual boundary many
miles. Of course there are also many small swampy areas on the main
part of the upland, even in the dry season; but large, permanent
swamps are not characteristic of this region. The vegetation line
along the regional boundary is somewhat irregular. Land that is
flooded by the rivers but dry and firm in the dry season is covered
with 1-foot to 3-foot tall grass fine for grazing cattle. This land
is called "toich". Other areas away from the rivers may be lightly
flooded because the rain runs off so slowly. On slightly higher
ground to the south and west, where flooding is light, the trees take
over. West of 26?E the boundary between the Wooded Upland Region to
the south and the Thin Woodland Savanna Region to the north is very hazy.
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MA
Figure 5. Typical regrowth (after clearing) about 20 feet
high, 50 miles northwest of Yei at the end of the dry season
(March). No object can be seen or identified through 200
feet of this vegetation.
Figure 6. Dense vegetation at the Congo border on the road
between Yei and Aba, Republic of the Congo.
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The "feel" of this upland region is one of forest. The men carry
bows or spears and like to hunt the forest animals. When they till
the red leached "ironstone" soil the trees must be girdled and removed
by burning or cutting. In a few years the soil is depleted, a new
site is cultivated, and the old one reverts to nature. Each year the
tallest vegetation on the old site is all the same height, whether it
is 3 feet or 30 feet, in contrast to the virgin woods which contains
trees of all heights. You can see these "flat-top" regrowth areas
along the roads or from higher ground. They are good places to hide
because the people who cultivated them have moved on, and the
undergrowth is so thick no native would hack his way through it from,
choice. They are infested, however, with nettles and insects. After
several years the regrowth is more like the natural forest in which
at least three levels are distinguishable:
(1.) The tallest trees, over 60 feet tall and near the end
of their life span, are widely spaced and stand out above the
next lower level.
(2.) Trees in vigorous growth, 40 to 50 feet tall, cover most
of the area.
(3.) A variety of undergrowth -- grass, bushes, and saplings -- is
mostly below 10 feet tall.
This mature forest is a little easier to walk through than the young
regrowth, particularly in the dry season (December-March), because
the undergrowth is not so dense. It also provides a broken canopy
of protection from distant ground observation or air observation.
No considerable part of the upland is free of native families or
small villages. Wheeled vehicles stay on the roads at all seasons.
The dry season is the most comfortable and healthful. Although the
highest temperatures then are over 100?F, the humidity is low and
there are fewer insects and less undergrowth than during the wet
season. Many grass fires are started by natives in openings in the
forest at this time, and they may produce an identifiable pattern
for a drop site relatively free of trees.
East of the White Nile
East of the White Nile the landscape is varied in many respects.
The lowest areas are about 1,500 feet in elevation. Some may be
swampy only in the wet season but others are swampy all year, as is
the Lotagipi swamp, in the extreme southeast corner of the region near
the Kenya border. Half a dozen isolated highland masses rise like
stacks above the 3,000-foot plain to elevations between 6,000 and
10,000 feet and finger out northward towards the swamps beyond Torit
and Kapoeta. Between them other isolated small gray hard-rock domes
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Figure 7. Volcanic hills 40 miles west of Kapoeta
(4047'N-33035'E) near the end of the dry season.
Note huts and buildings at foot of hill -- an ideal
place to dig for water.
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stand up 100 feet or so from the plain. The ruggedness, scenic
beauty, and cooler climate of the highlands have permitted a very
modest resort business, which is run by Sudan Railways. Before
Sudan became independent, Nogishot (6,500 feet) was the home of the
British District Commissioner and his assistant, and their guests
enjoyed fine hunting. On the lowlands the longer dry season
(November-March) and precipitation of about 25 inches a year produce
only a thin woodland; whereas the hills, which have up to 70 inches
of precipitation spread over most of the year, are forested. Some
of the hills have a "layer" of bamboo that grows between elevations
of 3,000 and 5,000 feet.
Wheeled vehicles can leave the road only in selected parts of
the plains where they can travel through grass about 3 feet tall or
duck between acacia trees on stony clay. The forested hills provide
good concealment and a potential water and food supply. They have a
sparse native population -- certainly fewer people per square mile
than on the upland west of the White Nile.
Drop sites can be designated at will on the plains east of the
White Nile, perhaps in relation to one of the low rock domes.
Emergency landing areas free of trees and rocks are difficult to
find. Small grassy stretches may contain anthills a foot or less
in height.
F. Seasonal Flood Region
This is the odd-ball region of Sudan. It is flat as a pancake and
has a lot of standing water all year.
From Bor, at an elevation of 1,380 feet, to Malakal the gradient
is less than 6 inches per mile. When the summer rains fall and the
flow of rivers from the east, west, and south into the area is
increased, the water has no place to go. Rivers flood beyond the
permanent lakes and swamps onto the flood plains, which remain under
water 4 to 6 months a year. Between the rivers large areas are
covered with standing rainwater that cannot drain off. In this kind
of country, elevations of just a few feet are very important as they
drain fairly well after a rain and become islands to which cattle and
people can retreat in summer. One of the largest in the region is a
sandy ridge about 7 feet high that extends for 160 miles north of Bor.
The only really high land in the Seasonal Flood Region is the very
small Boma Plateau in the south along the Ethiopian border where
some 2,500 square miles of land are between 3,000 and 4,000 feet above
sea level.
Rainfall is fairly uniform over the entire region and is fairly
reliable, some 30 to 1-O inches falling between April and October. The
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Figure 8. Palm trees and grass 50 miles north of Malakal in
the transition belt between the Seasonal Flood Region and the
thin Woodland Savanna Region.
Figure 9. Looking southward over the marshland of Upper Nile
Province from Ler (08ol8'N-30008'E).
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Boma Plateau, being higher, receives more. To a person in western
clothes it is hot all year and in addition the rainy season is very
humid. Low humidities during the dry season make the days more
bearable and the nights fairly comfortable.
The vegetation is predominantly grass of various kinds, and it is
easy for the natives to raise cattle and to clear the land by burning.
Most of the dry season smoke is visible somewhere on the horizon and
indicates either uncontrolled burning or, at night, the smudge fires
that are needed by both man and animal as protection against insects.
Fires and poor drainage make it hard for trees to grow over most of the
area, but wood was once plentiful enough to fuel the Nile steamers.
At least a few scattered acacias can usually be seen on stretches of
higher ground back from the rivers, and palms on these stretches indicate
that the higher ground probably is also sandy and well drained. Much
of the White Nile is flanked by ribbons -- yards or miles wide -- of
the famous papyrus. This round reed with a wavy tassel at the top
grows in the water and rises 8 to 12 feet above it.
Movement on foot over dry ground is relatively easy, but there is
little concealment other than low grass. Avoidance of the local
population requires plans that mesh with their way of life. Most of
the inhabitants own cattle and stay with them continuously. Their
normal migration is away from their permanent villages on higher
ground onto the flood plain for the dry season, then back to higher
ground in summer. Probably no large areas of liveable land are
uninhabited at any time. During the flood season, dry land is at a
premium, and even during the dry season a few people remain in the
permanent villages to harvest crops. Concealment should be possible
for several weeks in the grass, papyrus, or scrub of the flooded plain
while the native population is on higher ground. However, a slim
native canoe, which requires expert handling, is necessary to slice
through the vegetation, and even then mobility is greatly restricted.
Similar concealment in summer in the permanent papyrus swamps near
the White Nile probably is impossible because the natives are too near
at hand. They take their cattle to the surrounding flood plain, and
they also seek open swamp water or the rivers themselves to partake
of the concentrated supply of fish. In flood season the security
forces of Upper Nile Province customarily travel by boat rather than
by land. The boats range in size from outboards to Nile steamers. A
man standing on the wheelhouse roof of a steamer and equipped with
binoculars has a surprisingly commanding view of the countryside for
many miles around.
Good landing sites are not readily available. Although flat
grassy areas are plentiful, the full-grown grass may be too tall to
permit landing or takeoff. The choice is between acceptance of an
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area recently burned over by natives or the burning of a selected site.
In either case the local population will know about both the burning
and the landing. Good drop sites are abundant but not easily approachable
by wheeled vehicles. Much more firm ground is available for both landings
and drops between January and April than at other times. Commercial
aircraft flying the Malakal-Wau-Juba route have been overflying the area
for several years, and therefore any aircraft at normal airline altitude
should cause no comment. Aircraft flying at a low level could attract
considerable attention.
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Hafir - An artificially excavated surface reservoir.
Hashab - The acacia tree (Acacia senegal), also the gum arabic which
it yields.
Khor - A short-lived stream or watercourse; also a backwater of the
Nile or a narrow inlet of the sea.
Qoz or Qawz - A sandy area. Large expanses of rolling sandy ground with
stubby vegetation ranging from thick to sparse.
Sagia - An ox-drawn water wheel.
Teich - The flood plain of the Nile, which affords good grazing in
winter after the flood subsides.
Wadi - A large river with a sandy bed which flows intermittently in the
rainy season.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Barbour, K.M., The Republic of the Sudan, University of London Press,
Ltd., 1961. U.
2. Hodgkin, Robin A., Sudan Geography, Longmans, Green & Co. Ltd., 1960.
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IV. Population
A. Distribution and Composition
Sudan is almost as large as the United States east of the Mississippi,
but in 1963 it had an estimated population of only 12,600,000. The dis-
tribution of people throughout the country is uneven -- 14 percent of the
land area contains more than half the population. The greatest concen-
tration is found along the Nile River and its branches, where some areas
reach a density of 250 persons per square mile. In contrast, not a person
is to be found in many square miles of desert landscape in the northwest.
Population statistics for Sudan are poor by Western standards and at best
should be considered estimates subject to revision. The population of the
nine provinces according to the census of 1955-56 is given below:
Province
Persons Per
Square Mile
Males
Females
Total
Bahr el Ghazal
12
505,091
185,928
991,022
Blue Nile
38
1,065,586
1,001,060
2,069,616
Darfur
7
632,166
696,599
1,328,765
Equatoria
12
112,997
160,506
903,503
Kassala
7
502,947
138,092
911,039
Khartoum
62
272,821
232,099
5o4,923
Kordofan
12
887,571
871,397
1,761,968
Northern
5
122,297
150,762
873,059
Upper Nile
10
454,644
433P967
888 611
Total
11
5,186,126
5,076,410
10,262,536
Approximately 92 percent of the people live in rural areas; 11 percent
are nomads. Except for the banks of the Nile and the hills and plains
bordering the Red Sea, vast expanses of the Desert Region have very few
people. In the zone between the Desert Region and the northern boundary
of the Seasonal Flood Region, where rainfall is sufficient to permit
grazing and some cultivation without irrigation, there are scattered
nomads and some village settlements. Within this area is the Gezira -- an
irrigated cotton belt in the peninsula formed by the White and Blue Niles.
This is the most populous region of Sudan. The three southern provinces
receive the most rainfall and contain a third of the population of Sudan.
Sudan, like most underdeveloped areas, is a "young" country. An esti-
mated 50 percent of the population is under 15 years of age. Disregarding
fitness standards, some 18 percent of the population are males of military
age. A high birth rate is characteristic of Sudan. Although the death
rate is high, particularly for infants, the annual increase in population
is an estimated 2.8 percent. The birth, death, and infant mortality rates
of the southern provinces are higher than corresponding rates in the north.
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It is impossible to think of the Sudanese as a "people" in the same
sense that one would think of the French as a people. The population
is diverse, including Arabs and Negroes; townsmen, nomads, and villagers;
and Moslems, Christians, and pagans. Many urban Sudanese have outgrown
the beliefs of their ancestors, but rural people retain many traditional
practices. To most rural people, the welfare of the family, the village,
and the tribe is placed above national problems. Many of these people
feel no sense of belonging to a nation.
Knowledge of local customs should increase the chances of a hospit-
able reception, particularly among the rural people. The stranger must
guard against unwittingly offending local people. Most Moslems are very
particular concerning any contact their women have with men outside the
family. Some of the southern tribes have a high degree of morality,
but among others extramarital relations are ignored as long as pregnancy
does not result. Local customs may come as a surprise to the foreigner
and could easily be misinterpreted. For example, among the Acholi and
the Dinka, to spit upon a person as a greeting is considered especially
respectful.
Some natives, when met on the road, will drop what they are carrying
and sit down with both hands held out. The implication is that "you
have nothing to feax from me." Under appropriate conditions a pocket
knife, nail file, or spool of wire may be used effectively as an indi-
cation of friendship. In some circumstances the application of simple
health remedies, such as aspirin, could produce a spirit of good will
and cooperation. Sudan is an "emerging" nation and many Sudanese have
become somewhat accustomed to Westerners. Even in the south small
Greek merchants are known to natives in the bush. Sudanese money is a
valued commodity even to the tribesman who cannot read the Arabic numbers
on the bills.
In the south witch doctors do a thriving business in charms and drugs
believed to counteract the effects of witchcraft and the "evil eye" -- the
belief that certain persons can wittingly or unwittingly kill or injure
with a glance. Strangers, particularly, may be suspected of having the
"evil eye" and must be especially careful in offering compliments. Com-
pliments expressed by an "evil eye" bearer are said to bring disaster to
the person or animal to which they are directed. The "evil eye" is an
important force in the lives of seemingly sophisticated Sudanese. An
image, piece of wood or other object made to resemble the victim, or some
object closely associated with the victim such as pieces of hair, nail
parings or clothing, is burned or buried as a means of carrying out black
magic.
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SUDAN
POPULATION AND
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS
-??- International boundary
Province boundary
National capital
Province seat
Persons per square mile
0 5.2 25.9 258.9
171
0 2 10 /00
Persons per square kilometer
CENTRAL''
AFRICAN t'`?
..............
TH:BRN
..............
REPUBLIC {
u 1
REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
BOUNDARY REPRESENTATION 19 V.
NOT NECEEIARILY AUTHORITATIVE
TOR1A
Lake
Tana
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A white man has particular advantages and liabilities in dealing with
the natives. White skin and western dress will serve as objects of curi-
osity for many people who have had limited contacts with Europeans. In
the south the white man may receive the same favorable treatment accorded
Christian missionaries and visiting British civil servants under the
colonial administration. On the other hand, the southerner has a long
history of hatred for his Arab neighbor to the north and in some areas
the white man may be looked upon with distrust, particularly if he is
mistaken for an Arab.
C. Ethnic Groupings
There are two major ethnic types in Sudan. North of 120N live the
"Arabs" who are mostly Moslem; south of 120N are the Negroes who are
either pagan or Christian. While the Arab has become mixed with Negro
blood, the Negro is more nearly a true racial type. Islam has been the
cultural standard and a unifying force among most people in the north
for many years. Most of the country's leadership comes from the north.
The government is attempting to decrease the cultural contrasts and
sectional interests by spreading Islam and the Arabic language through-
out the nation.
There are three principal ethnic groups in the north: the Beja,
living between the Nile and the Red Sea; the Nubians, occupying the
narrow valley of the Nile immediately south of Egypt; and those who
call themselves "Arabs" in the central part of the country (see Map
38096 -- Sudan: Tribes). In the south there are also three major
groups. Linguistically they may be considered Nilotes, Nilo-Hamites,
and Sudanic tribes. The "Arabs" of the north look down upon the pre-
dominantly pagan Negroid people of the south and, although the days of
slavery have long passed, the south is still considered a source of
cheap labor. The tribal structure by province, population figures for
tribal groups, and languages spoken in Sudan are tabulated below:
Tribal Structure by Province (1955-56 Census)
Percent of Total Population
of Province
Bahr el Ghazal
Central Southerners
(mainly Nilotic)
93
Blue Nile
Arabs
74
Darfur
Westerners (mainly Fur
Zaghawa, Daju, Tungur5
63
Equatoria
Eastern Southerners
(mainly Nilo-Hamitic)
56
Kassala
Beja
54
Khartoum
Arabs
61
Kordofan
Arabs
56
Northern
Arabs
66
Upper Nile
Central Southerners
(mainly Nilotic)
94
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Group
Tribes and Tribal Groups (1955-56 Census)
Percent of
Number Sudanese Population
Arab 3,989,000 39
Nuba 573,000 6
Beja 646,000 6
Nubian 330,000 3
Central Southerners 2,026,000 20
(mainly Nilotic)
Eastern Southerners 549,000 5
(mainly Nilo-Hamitic)
Western Southerners 482,000 5
(mainly Sudanic)
Westerners (mainly Fur 1,315,000 13
Zaghawa, Daju, Tungur~
Miscellaneous 353,000 3
Languages
Language Spoken
Number of
Persons
Percent of Total
Arabic
5,276,000
51
Non-Arabic (spoken in
1)244,000
12
northern and central
Sudan)
Nilotic
1,843,000
18
Nilo-Hamitic
501,000
5
Sudanic
483,000
5
Darfurian
546,000
5
Other African
359,000
4
European
8,000
--
Other ,Languages
3,000
--
(mainly Asian)
1. The Arabs
When using the term "Arab" in Sudan, further definition becomes necessary.
Sometimes the word is used on the basis of race, speech, or way of life and
sometimes in connection with the Moslem religion. Not all who claim to be
Arabs would be accepted as such by others. Some who at times claim to be
Arabs, at other times will speak disparagingly of Arabs.
The majority of the Arab population lives in the belt of permanent
settlements between Kassala and El Fasher or as nomads in the same
general area and to the north and south of it. Most Arabs who came to
Sudan came from Arabia by land up the Nile Valley, although some came
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E 0 n E m
Figure 10. Arab women in Omdurman (15038'N-32030'E). The
Islamic code dictates that women's bodies be covered to this
extent.
Figure 11. Arab ditch tenders near Sennar (13033'N-33038'E).
The ditch tenders control irrigation gates in the Gezira
irrigation area.
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directly across the Red Sea. They have spread as far west as Kordofan
Province. Many have intermarried freely with the Negroes and converted
a number to the Moslem faith establishing a link of spiritual brotherhood.
The Arabs who entered Sudan are divided geneologically into two groups,
the Ja'aliyin and the Guhayna, corresponding roughly to settled and nomadic
tribes. The Ja'aliyin also include many tribes that are predominantly
Nubian. Medium brown in color, the Ja'aliyin have fairly narrow noses,
but slightly broadened lips and curly black hair because of the Negro
blood.
Most Guhayna Arabs still follow the nomadic way of life. Typical of
these are the camel-owning Kababish of northern Kordofan, the Shukriya
of southern Kassala who keep both camels and cattle, and the great cattle-
owning Baqqara tribes of southern Kordofan and Darfur. Some of the
sedentary tribes living in the Gezira belong to the Guhayna group such as
the Mesellimiya, Halawin, and Ruf'aa.
Personal relationships between Arabs are governed by precise etiquette.
The handshake is the universal greeting, and it may be repeated several
times during the course of a meeting. Conversation is leisurely and is
always begun by inquiring into the man's health and general welfare. One
does not ask about a man's family except in the most general terms, and
asking about his wives or any other women in the household should be
avoided absolutely. Concepts of time are inexact, and appointments are
more likely to be for "the evening" rather than for "7 o'clock."
The left hand is considered unclean, and one does not use it to make
a greeting or to present something to another. When eating with Arabs,
it is very important never to remove food from the cooking pot or to
touch another's food with the left hand. It is considered a sign of
disrespect to show the sole of the foot.
Clothing is not only an indication of wealth, it is directly related
to notions of morality. Nakedness is associated with the primitive
Negro and is regarded as a sign of ignorance of Koranic law and morality.
Seventy-three percent of the Sudanese are Moslems of the Sunna Sect,
including nearly all Sudanese in northern provinces. In keeping with
the many differences between the north and south, the Moslem religion
of the north contrasts with the religious practices of the three southern
provinces of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile, and Equatoria, where most of the
inhabitants are pagan. The degree of adherence to the practices of Islam
varies greatly from Moslem to Moslem. On the one hand there is the rather
casual acceptance of Islam on the part of a very small sophisticated upper
class; on the other hand there is the extremism of the religious sheikhs
and leaders. The most common practice is typified by the lower class
majority in their simple acceptance of the five basic requirements of
Islam: faith, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage.
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Almost all Moslems in Sudan observe the fast of Ramadan -- the ninth
month of the Moslem calendar. Strictest in this respect are the tribesmen
and nomads. During this month all devout Moslems fast from daybreak
(reckoned as the moment a black thread may be distinguished from a white
one) until the last ray of light has disappeared. The fast means abstinence
from all food, drink, tobacco, and indulgence in worldly pleasures; exceptions
are made for the sick, the weak, soldiers on duty and travelers. The end
of the fast at dusk is frequently signaled by the firing of a cannon.
The chief Moslem festivals have received official recognition as public
holidays. New clothes are worn during these festivals, and visits to
relatives and friends are common. Cemetaries and tombs of the saints are
also visited. On the Prophet's birthday special processions are organized
and in Omdurman the religious brotherhoods compete in elaborate displays.
Partly because of Islamic law and to demonstrate the purity and
nobility of his lineage, the Arab has constructed a genealogy that often
extends back to the Prophet. In Sudan the Arab carefully omits any
reference to Negroes in his family tree. Since it is likely that there
are Negroes in the family tree, it is wise never to question an Arab's
genealogy unless you have every intention of making him your enemy.
Rural Arabs may be classified as "villagers" or "nomads". The villag-
er entrusts his loyalty to the patron or "Sheikh," a man of influence and
wealth who serves as administrator and protector. The villager is usually
a farmer or possibly a small merchant. He values money and places a high
premium upon conservative Arab respectability. Historically, the villager
has feared the nomad who frequently attacked and plundered the smaller
villages.
For the nomad the welfare of his animals comes first; animals provide
milk, meat, hides, and fuel. In addition, animals represent his savings
and wealth. Nomads have little use for money except to pay occasional
taxes and to make certain purchases in the market. Should he earn any
excess by hiring out his animals as transport, he is likely to invest
immediately in a cow or camel. Direct trade in livestock has only
limited appeal to the nomad. It-has been said that asking an Arab the
price of a sheep is like asking an American how much he wants for a
dollar bill.
Since livestock represents an investment, nomads are reluctant to
eat them. However, in entertaining guests tradition calls for an ex-
travagant provision of meat, usually far more than is necessary. The
guest in turn is expected to proclaim often his unworthiness of such
excellent fare and to state that he has had "too much" (often in fact,
before he has had too much). The Arab is deeply involved personally in
his ability to honor his guests according to tradition. Traditionally,
once an individual has eaten an Arab's food and while he remains his
guest, his host is bound to protect him from all enemies.
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Figure 12. Nubian girl of mixed Negro and
Arab blood. Members of this group have more
Negro blood than any other northern group,
but because of the admixture of Arab blood
they have a light color often called "reddish."
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The family life of Moslems is guided by the Sharia, part of the law
of Islam, and by other holy writing and interpretations. These precepts
favor the authority of the father in family life.
2. The Nubians
The Nubians occupy the narrow valley of the Nile immediately south
of the Egyptian border. This is a true desert, and the only source of
water is the Nile itself. The Nubians numbered 330,032, according to
the 1955-56 census -- 3 percent of the total Sudan population.
They are primarily representative of the Brown Race, modified some-
what by Egyptian, Negro, and Arab elements, which have given the Nubians
a rich brown color like that of milk chocolate. A lighter skin would
indicate a recent admixture of Turkish or Egyptian blood, whereas a
darker colored skin could be traced to a slave ancestry.
The Nubians, like the settled Arabs, are villagers and Moslems. Their
social values are not always those of the Arabs, although they are eager
for acceptance in the Arab world. They seek religious and secular educa-
tion and have acquired a disproportionate influence in the government.
Many of the Nubians are merchants and were formerly slave traders, eaxn-
ing for the Arabs the ill will of the Negro tribes to the south.
Although the Arabic language is spoken by some, most speak a language
called Nubian. This is divided into two groups: one spoken by the
Sukkot and Mahas around Wadi Halfa and the other by the Danagla of
Dongola district farther south.
The Danagla, physically the most Negroid of northern Sudanese, claim
Arab ancestry and in many cases speak only Arabic outside the home. Many
leave their northern homes and take jobs as cooks, waiters, and domestic
servants in the towns of Sudan and Egypt. The Bedeiriya upstream of the
Danagla are likewise almost wholly Nubian although they claim an Arab
origin.
The Shaiqiya, living from Korti upstream to the Fourth Cataract, are
a well-built people of the same color as the Danagla; their appearance
is more Arablike than that of the Danagla. Many of the Shaiqiya have
found jobs as policemen or soldiers -- including President Abboud. Most
are settled in permanent villages, but some still live on the fringe of
the desert.
Upstream of the Fourth Cataract the population consists of the
Manasir, Rubatab, and Mirafab tribes, who are a mixture of Nubian and
Arab stock. Because of the poverty of their land the Rubatab live a
seminomadic existance, grazing their animals on the thin desert scrub
in the loop of the Nile and wherever fodder can be found along its banks.
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Figure 13. Typical Beja of the Red Sea Hills.
These men are members of the Hadendowa tribe.
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Southward from the point where the Atbara River joins the Nile is
the Ja'aliyin tribe. Although they claim to be pure Arabs, they are
largely Nubians. There are a few seminomadic sections of the tribe
whose flocks and herds graze the steppe away from the river and
cultivate the wadi beds. Members of the Ja'aliyin tribe also live in
the Gezira.
There are 31,000 tribesmen in the northwestern part of the Nuba
Hills near Dilling who are also considered Nubians. They are sometimes
grouped with the Nuba tribes, whom they resemble culturally, but they
are properly known as Hill Nubians.
3. The Be j a
The Beja, who live between the Nile and the Red Sea, may have occu-
pied their present territory for as long as 6,000 years. They resemble
early Egyptians in appearance and are nominally Moslems but often use
the term "Arab" as an insult. They adhere only superficially to Arab-
Moslem morality. For example, no shame attaches to bastards or their
mothers in Beja society. Leisure and freedom from labor are idealized
and, although frequently on the verge of starvation, these people are
loath to work.
The southern Beja tribe, the Beni Amer, most closely resemble the
early Egyptians. Their territory is located on both sides of the
Sudan-Ethiopian border. Members of the three northern tribes -- Amarar,
Bisharin, and Hadendowa -- have broader heads and are taller than the
Beni Amer. In all cases there has been a slight darkening of the skin
because of the admixture of Negro blood.
The Halenga of Kassala district and the Qabail Ukhra, a collection
of small tribal groups inhabiting the southern part of the coastal plain
of the Red Sea, are included among the Beja.
An old Hamitic language called "Tu Bedawie" has been the language
of the Beja, but as it is not a written language the use of Arabic has
increased.
4. The Nuba
Some of the members of the Brown Race who were not assimilated into
the Arab tribes were driven by the Arabs into the Nuba Hills of southern
Kordofan Province. The Arabs use the term Nuba to refer to all the
inhabitants of the Nuba Hills. These members of the Brown Race mixed
with the Negroes and soon became indistinguishable from them. In general
they are tall, big-boned, and muscular with predominantly Negroid features.
None of their many languages appear to be related to any known language
elsewhere. The various hill communities show a remarkable diversity of
custom, and only limited tribal groupings are acknowledged. There are no
common traditions or major unifying factors.
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Figure 14. A chief of the Dinka tribe.
Figure 15. Nuer tribesmen along the Nile south of Malakal in
typical dugout canoes.
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In an effort to absorb the Nuba into the mass of the northern popu-
lation, the government is introducing the Arabic language and Islam.
There are now about 450,000 Nuba in Kordofan, excluding the Hill Nubians
and Daju peoples who live in the same area and are frequently grouped.
with them.
5. The Darfur Tribes
Numerous Negroid tribes occupy Darfur Province; by far the major
group is the Fur, who number about 170,000. Negroid in appearance, the
Fur live a sedentary farming life on volcanic Jebel Marra and much of
the lowland around it.
The Zaghawa tribe live north of the Fur and are a people of mixed
Negroid and Brown Race origin. They are a seminomadic people, lithe,
stalwart, active, and very black-skinned.
In east central Darfur are the Meidob people who are seminomadic
animal herders. To the west are several tribes who live along the
border of Chad and Central African Republic; these are the Masalit, the
Gimr, and the Tama. Several Negroid groups such as the Daju, Beigo,
Birkid, and Fellata live in southern Darfur.
As throughout the rest of the country, the Arabic language and Moslem
religion are spreading among the people of Darfur Province. The Fur
pretend, as do the Nubians, to Arab ancestry. They are villagers and
industrious farmers. More warlike than the Arab villager, raiding the
lowlands was until recently a favorite pastime. Fur women have a high
degree of personal independence. There is a shortage of young men, and
the dances which form a prominent feature of Fur social life are notably
occasions for promiscuity. Girls are not secluded, wear little clothing,
and take great trouble to prepare elaborate hairdoes.
6. The Nilotes
The Nilotic people, so called because of their close association with
the Nile and its headwaters, are thought to have come originally from the
vicinity of Lake Rudolph in modern Kenya. Intermarriage and warfare have
so affected the Nilotes that it is not always possible to determine pre-
cisely which people are Nilotes and which are riot. Generally accepted as
Nilotes are the following groups: Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk, Anuak, Burun,
Bor Balanda, Jur, and Acholi, of whom the last live on both sides of the
Sudan-Uganda border.
Although this grouping of Nilotes is primarily linguistic, general
physical characteristics are common to the great majority. They have
Negroid features modified somewhat by admixture with peoples of the
Brown Race from Ethiopia and are extremely tall with a wiry, long-legged
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Figure 16. Shilluk tribesman with typ-
ical Shilluk "bead" scarification. Con-
ical houses called "tukels" can be seen
in the background. The Shilluk economy
is mainly agricultural.
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Figure 17. Nuer tribesman. The results of
scarification can be seen in the bands around
his forehead.
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build. Their hair is frizzy and their skin is dark brown to black. Gen-
erally their heads are longer than most Negroes' heads and their facial
characteristics range from long straight noses and thin lips to broad
noses and thick lips. Sometimes many ornaments are worn; they rarely
wear clothes.
The Nilotes are predominantly cattle keepers. Even those who are
mainly farmers share a preoccupation with cattle which far exceeds the
devotion of the Arab to his herds. Cattle are not merely a means of
subsistence but are intimately related to the entire system of social
and spiritual values.
The Dinka and Nuer are among the tallest people in the world, the
men averaging 70 inches; many individuals measure 78 inches and more.
The Dinka are the largest Nilotic group, numbering over 1,000,000. The
Nuer are a homogeneous group with no major differences in dialects or
culture variations. They are warlike, the most independent, and the most
intolerant of foreigners.
Preoccupation with the morality of their own way of life has strength-
ened the general indifference of the Nilotes, particularly those with the
most cattle, to alien cultures. The Nilotes are noted for their self-
sufficient pride and their disinclination to defer to anyone. They are
intensely loyal to their family and tribe and to their ideals of justice
and fairness. They are chivalrous toward women.
7. The Nilo-Hamites
The Nilo-Hamites in Sudan are the northernmost members of this group.
The most southern group extends as far south as central Tanganyika, and
other Nilo-Hamites live in Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Again, this is
a linguistic grouping. There is no predominant physical type. Individ-
uals vary in color from dark brown to black. The skin color of one group,
the Bari, is so dark as to be described as blue-black. They are generally
fairly tall and have long heads.
The western group, located near the Nile south of Bor, include the
Bari, Mandari, Nyangbara, Fajelu, Kakwa, Kuku, Nyepu, Lokoya, Luluba,
Latuka, and Lango.
All of these people attach great importance to rainmaking and believe
in rain stones. Except among the village-dwelling Latuka, scattered
groups of huts or even individual huts constitute the usual type of
settlement. There is no strong tribal organization or permanent chief.
Most of the western Nilo-Hamites in Sudan occupy a territory infested
with the tsetse fly, which transmits African sleeping sickness, and they
are therefore unable to keep cattle. Some tribes, such as the Bari and
Mandari, live on the east bank of the Nile outside the tsetse country and
are thus able to keep some cattle.
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Figure 18. Girl of the Madi tribe of Equa-
toria Province. The beaded scars were once
probably tribal marks but now are regarded
as ornamental.
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The eastern groups of the Nilo-Hamites in Sudan are made up of the
Toposa, Donyiro, Jiye, and Turkana. The Donyiro and Turkana tribesmen
are administered by the government of Kenya because of the difficulty
of reaching their territory from Sudanese administrative centers.
8. The Sudanic Tribes
There are four main groups of the Sudanic-speaking tribes of south-
western Sudan: the Azande, the Ndogo-Sere group, the Moru-Madi, and the
Bongo-Baka.
The Azande are actually a group of tribes rather than a single people.
They are a dull chocolate brown in color, usually short, have round heads
and broad noses, and are markedly stockier than the Nilotes or Nilo-Hamites.
The Azande and Azande-influenced peoples of the southwest are relatively
materialistic. Their economy is agricultural and their society competitive.
Cattle and other animals are so scarce in most of the area that the people
are meat-starved and will eat any meat they can find.
Little is known about the remaining three groups. The Ndogo-Sere
probably came from the south long ago. The Moru-Madi group is divided
linguistically into three subgroups, none of which can understand the
others. There is no central authority within the tribes, and the largest
group that comes under a single chief is rarely more than a handful of
villages. The Bongo-Baka group also has little unity and is very scattered;
there is no cohesion between neighboring villages.
D. Migration
In all five regions of Sudan there are groups of people who move from
one place to another. The moves differ in distance, direction, duration,
time of year, motive, and percent of the village or tribe who participate.
Except for those who are traveling in search of employment, the groups
return to, or near to, their starting point within a year.
Few if any nomads occupy the Libyan Desert in northwest Sudan because
there is not enough water to support life. In the rest of the Desert
Region and in the Semidesert Region, the unreliable rainfall makes it
difficult for nomads to follow a prescribed migration pattern. Instead,
they generally move north and south with the rains but change direction
as scouts report on the condition of distant pastures. Nomads are not
necessarily in motion every day or every week. If pastures permit, they
stay in one area a month or two and make short moves within this area
every few days.
Toward the end of the dry season there are fewer and fewer ungrazed
pastures to turn to and many nomadic groups have to remain near estab-
lished sources of water. In the Thin Woodland Savanna Region nomadism
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Figure 19. Zande witch doctor. The Azande
believe strongly in witchcraft and attribute
all illnesses and calamities to it.
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is less important than settled agriculture. Those groups that do live
by pasturing animals can follow more regular migration patterns because
the rainfall is more reliable. They can also remain in one grazing
area longer than people do farther north and may have permanent villages
to which they return for a few months each year. Some of the group
remain in the village at all times to tend crops and to maintain the
integrity of the homelands. On the border of the Wooded Upland the pre-
dominance of trees almost eliminates nomadic herding.
Within the Seasonal Flood Region and on its borders in Sudan the
migration cycle is quite regular and dependable. It follows the rhythma
of the Nile River system, which floods widely in summer and retreats to
the riverbeds and permanent swamps for varying periods between January
and June. Most of the natives in this region with their animals,
chiefly cattle, move onto the flood plain as waters recede and new
grasses sprout and then retreat uphill to their permanent villages ahead
of the flood. The vertical rise may be only 10 feet, but the trek may
be several dozen miles and extend over a period of weeks.
Groups of people numbering several hundred may move many miles from
their homes on the Wooded Upland for brief periods, but these are hardly
migrations. They move in large groups for the purpose of hunting, a
favorite occupation, or to fight another tribe; the fight is usually a
war game, and few people are wounded.
E. Health and Medical Care
Sudan has one of the highest death rates in the world. About 94+ out
of 1,000 babies born die during their first year. The life expectancy
of the Sudanese is only 28 years. Primitive and unsanitary living con-
ditions, malnutrition, and the general scarcity of medical facilities
throughout the country contribute to Sudan's high death rate.
Only the educated and wealthy classes of the town understand the
value of, and can afford, a balanced diet. Because of the shortage of
transportation facilities, especially in the south, most of the people
have to rely on what they produce or gather. In certain periods of the
year or in time of catastrophe serious famine occurs.
Unsanitary conditions are a cause of poor health and disease. Rivers,
canals, stagnant pools, and wells, used for washing of foods, bathing,
laundering, as well as for drinking water, are polluted with human and
animal wastes. The inspection of food is very lax, and controls have been
attempted only in the larger towns. Even in these towns there are few
facilities for pasteurization of milk.
Diseases prevalent throughout the Sudan include dysentery, malaria,
syphilis, trachoma, and tuberculosis. Other serious diseases occur in
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particular areas: bilharziasis along the Nile and its tributaries in
the north and also in irrigated areas, hookworm and leprosy in the
southern provinces, and sleeping sickness along the southern borders
of Equatoria and Bahr el Ghazal Provinces.
Health facilities are generally inadequate and substandard although
major outbreaks of contagious diseases can now be controlled. In 1960
there was only one physician per 32,000 people (370 physicians in all)
and only one hospital bed per 1,21+8 people (9,431+ beds).
The Ministry of Health uses radio programs, agricultural shows, and
tribal gatherings as well as its own network of dispensaries to present
simple educational programs on disease prevention, mother and child care,
and nutrition. Instruction is also given to hospitalized patients in
how to avoid recurrences of sickness. Nevertheless, facilities and health
education are not expanding at a pace sufficient for the increasing needs.
Very few Sudanese have the means to obtain nutritious foods, and only
the educated seek a balanced diet. Deficiencies in staple foods cause
several diseases. Because of religious beliefs, even those who can afford
to eat nutritious foods do not always do so.
The shortage of transport facilities, especially in the south, results
in little exchange of foodstuffs. Each tribe or group exists primarily
on what the group itself can produce. This usually consists of only one
or two staple foods. After catastrophies such as locust invasion, semi-
starvation exists. Food shortages also occur at the end of the dry season
when grain is scarce and cattle, camels, and goats give little milk. In
emergencies some tribes dig up the wild yam and wash off its poisonous
substances; the Dinka rely heavily on wild berries.
There is a great difference between the diets of the settled culti-
vators on the one hand and the nomads and seminomads on the other.
Settled cultivators, although better fed than the nomads, do not have as
well balanced a diet. Most people -- although they may keep a few goats,
sheep, or work cattle -- do not get enough animal food products. Peoples
of the Wooded Upland Region are unable to raise cattle because of the
tsetse fly; their main food is cassava supplemented by peanuts and forest
fruits. They also fish, hunt wild game, and catch rodents, termites, and
insects.
The cattle-keeping Nilotes' diet is higher than the settled culti-
vators'in animal protein, and they cultivate whole-meal millet as their
staple food. Similarly the food of the pastoral people of the north is
derived mainly from their animals and is supplemented by grain. Some of
the nomadic tribes eat meat and milk products regularly, whereas the poorer
tribes must sell their milk and they eat meat only on cermonial occasions.
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Figure 20. Dinka fishermen on the Lol River.
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Outside the three southern provinces fresh fruit and vegetables almost
disappear from the rural diet. Many people along the Nile supplement
their diets with fish. Some farmers living near markets, as in the irri-
gated areas and the grain belt, are able to supplement their basic diets
through cash purchases.
G. Dress
While working, the Arab usually wears only baggy trousers and the
long overshirt reaching to his knees. However, when leisure allows,
even when the climate is hot, the respectable Arab is heavily clothed.
Clothing is an indication of wealth, but it also is to the Arab a sign
of morality. The Arab looks down upon the naked Negro as ignorant,
especially of good morals.
Respectable Moslem women are for the most part expected to be veiled
and wrapped in concealing garments. This does not hold true, however,
among sophisticated, educated, urban Moslem families. In very poor fam-
ilies in villages and nomadic camps, where a woman may help in farm work,
she is rarely veiled and may go about bare to the waist.
Because of the intense heat, in the southern bush country and the
swamps of the upper Nile, clothes are generally not worn by the Negro
population. Even in towns such as Wau, Malakal, and Juba some of the
men and women on the streets may be almost naked. The standard Dinka
insect repellent is a complete suit of mud and nothing else. The
Nilotes and the Nuba wear the least amount of clothing; the people of
the southwest wear at least a pair of shorts, and a married woman is
expected to wear at least a bunch of leaves or a leather apron as a
symbol of her status.
In areas of cash economy some Negroes wear cotton clothes. A
brightly colored wraparound tied above the breasts or over one shoulder
is worn by many women. A man who makes his living in town as a postal
clerk or policeman may discard most of his clothes when he returns home
on leave. European shirts and shorts (sometimes the shirts only) are
popular, and European hats are especially favored by headmen and chiefs.
Some Southern leaders elected to Parliament in 1958 bought their first
western suits for their appearance in Khartoum.
H. Housing
Housing materials vary by region of the country. North of 120N in
the region of little rainfall, most rural houses are built of unfired
mud-brick. A mixture of dung and clay is applied to the outside walls,
and inside walls may have a thin coat of whitewash. The structures are
usually one story tall with flat roofs of matting supported by palm logs
and plastered over with clay to make a reasonably weathertight finish.
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Figure 21. Village along the railroad in the desert south of
Abu Hamed. The houses are made of sun-dried mud bricks.
Figure 22. Cluster of huts around a central courtyard in
the Nuba Hills.
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Figure 23. Jur family and hut 40 miles east of Tonj during
dry season.
Figure 24. Dinka family in front of elevated hut in the
transition belt between the Wooded Upland and Seasonal
Flood Regions 40 miles east of Tonj.
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The floors are of earth and the windows are small and unglazed. The
dwelling is usually partitioned to form separate quarters for the
women. Most houses are surrounded by mud walls to protect the owners'
property and to insure the seclusion of his women. These houses are
cool during the winter months and stiflingly hot during the summer.
In central and southern Sudan the normal building materials are poles,
grass, and millet stalks, and the huts are round with conical thatched
roofs. The walls that enclose the compounds in central Sudan are usually
built of millet stalks. In the southern provinces the homes vary con-
siderably. The Nilotes and Nilo-Hamites live in villages of huts and
cattle shelters; a chief's home is likely to have a wall around it.
Housing in the poorest areas, such as Darfung and most of the south,
is likely to be crudely constructed, often in simple beehive shape.
While the Nuer build their huts on the ground, certain of the western
Dinka build structures on wooden platforms raised several feet from the
ground. The Azande build their huts in the dense brush at some distance
from one another.
I. Education
In keeping with Khartoum's attempt to unify the country, educational
facilities in Sudan, including mission schools in the south, are being
brought under direct government supervision. There are, however, some
60 schools with an enrollment of about 10,000 students still being
operated by Egyptians. It was estimated in 1955 that between 3 and 5
percent of the population were literate. The government claims that
currently 24 percent of all children of school age are attending public
or private primary schools. Most of these primary schools are in the
northern part of the country, with the greatest concentration in Khartoum
Province..
Most secondary schools are also in northern Sudan. There are 10
secondary schools in the north in contrast to two in the south. After
graduation from a secondary school a student may enter the University
of Khartoum or one of seven Intermediate-Technical Schools. Some 800
Sudanese students are enrolled in the Khartoum branch of the University
of Cairo.
Study at university level outside the country has been steadily in-
creasing, especially in Soviet Bloc universities. Of 295 Bloc scholar-
ships extended since 1956, 77 were given in the academic year 1962-63.
The number of scholarship students in non-Bloc countries is roughly 600
at the present time. Most of these are in Great Britain, the United
States, or the American University at Beirut. In addition, the United
States has contributed funds for technical education and for the con-
struction of technical schools in Sudan.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Barbour, K.M. The Republic of the Sudan, University of London Press,
Ltd., 1961. U.
2. Economist Intelligence Unit, London. Three Monthly Economic Review
Annual Supplement, Egypt (UAR), Libya, and Sudan, Apr 63. U.
3. Army, Special Operations Research Off. Area Handbook for the Republic
of the Sudan, Aug 60. OFF USE.
4. Krotki, Karol Jozef. 21 Facts About the Sudanese (First Population
Census of the Sudan 1955757-
955 5 , R. Kiesel, Salzburg, 195 U.
5. CIA. NIS 54, Sudan, sec 41, Mar 59. C.
6. Ibid., sec 43, May 60. C/NO FOREIGN DISSEM.
7. Ibid., sec 45, Nov 62. C.
8. Paul, A. A History of the Beja. Tribes of the Sudan, University
Press, Cambridge, England, 1954. U.
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SUDAN
LIBYA
B $DBYAT
80 AA'N
jZA
TAMA
CENTRAL Vt - N U E
JU0.r - 11% LAU
AFRICAN NDOGO
SERE
REPUBLIC
TRIBES
Large type indicates
major ethnic or
cultural groups.
SOURCE. Barbour, K.M.
The Republic of the Sudan;
University of London Press,
1961
U. A. R. v' ?aP
K A B A B 1 s H
2EIVADIVA
BEAT' NUBA
'aP A A
P~1St,, RAWANLUC
v,P e . W H
BENZ _ t r-% .4 -0 41 "'.1
RENAN
A,
RUTA'A
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V. Economy
Sudan, with 967,500 square miles, is the largest country in Africa.
Flowing north, the Nile river system provides water transport as well
as vital irrigation. Commercial, governmental, transport, and military
activities center on the Khartoum urban complex.
Cotton is the major cash crop and principal source of foreign
exchange in Sudan, where 92 percent of the population is directly
dependent on the land. Most cotton is grown by government-controlled
irrigation schemes, but other crops and livestock are privately owned.
Sudan is short of fuel, power, and mineral resources and has no heavy
industry.
The economic characteristics of the country vary greatly between
the Arab Moslem north and the Negro pagan and Christian south. The
money economy is confined primarily to the areas around Khartoum, Port
Sudan, and the Gezira and has little influence on most of the people in
the south, where hunting, fishing, and subsistence agriculture are the
prevailing occupations. The central and northern steppes and deserts
support an extensive nomadic and pastoral economy.
The origin of the total domestic output of the country demonstrates
the overriding importance of agriculture:
Contribution to Total
Domestic Output
1960-61
(percent)
Agriculture, livestock, forestry, fishing
57
Transport, distribution, banking
15
Mining, manufacturing, public utilities
2
Building and construction
7
Crafts, services, rental income
11
Administration, social services, miscellaneous
8
In spite of increasing agricultural production and a recent growth in
light industry, the national income is still very low. A large percentage
of the population lives at a subsistence level, and per capita income does
not exceed $80 a year, which places Sudan in the lower range of the low-
income countries. The economy, however, is generally sound; export earn-
ings meet vital needs and regularly return a surplus to the national budget,
which finances a large part of development projects. Inflationary pressures
have been controlled fairly well, foreign exchange reserves are adequate,
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X31
Figure 25. Aerial view of northern part of the Gezira Scheme.
Figure 26. Small canal in the Gezira.
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and trade and investment levels are rising. Government policy is generally
conducive to growth, and the outlook for continued Sudanese economic expan-
sion is promising.
B. Natural Resources
The primary economic resources of Sudan are the Nile River and its
tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, along with gum acacia
woodlands and some areas of potentially arable land. Exploitable mineral
resources are limited. An iron ore deposit along the Red Sea coast about
70 miles north of Port Sudan is expected to produce 500,000 tons annually
after nearby port facilities have been improved. Gold, manganese, salt,
mica, limestone, and gypsum are mined on a small scale.
Domestic energy resources are extremely limited. The country has no
commercial coal or oil deposits; wood, animal dung, and charcoal are the
predominant fuels. (See Section D for discussion of hydroelectric poten-
tial of Sudan.)
C. Agriculture
The Sudanese economy is based almost entirely upon agriculture. About
92 percent of the population depends on the land for a living, and between
90 and 95 percent of export sales is made up of agricultural products.
Most of the population is not involved in the money economy. Subsistence
farming is the rule in all but a small area in the northern half of the
country, where the government is the chief promoter of large-scale modern
commercial farms dependent on irrigation from the Nile and its tributaries.
These irrigated lands, devoted chiefly to growing long-staple cotton,
constitute 16 percent of the cultivated area and produce 40 percent of
the value of agricultural output and about 65 percent of the total value
of exports. The government is devoting major efforts to the difficult
task of converting a subsistence economy to one producing a variety of
cash crops, but it faces major handicaps in the form of superstition, lack
of education, and poor communications and transportation.
The Gezira Irrigation Scheme, the largest and most important of the
major government-managed agricultural projects, has transformed the area
between the Blue Nile and the White Nile south of Khartoum into good
arable land, suitable for cotton, grain, and fodder. The total area,
including the recently completed Managuil extension, is over 1.8 million
acres. Completion of the $89 million Roseires Dam on the Blue Nile will
permit the inauguration of another extension of the Gezira -- the Kenana
Scheme -- which will eventually bring an additional 1.25 million acres
into cultivation.
The Gash Delta Scheme of about 75,000 acres is on the Khor Gash.
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The Tokar Delta Scheme of 400,000 acres is near the Red Sea along the
Khor Baraka.
The Guneid Scheme is the largest pump project in Africa, irrigating
over 30,000 acres of land on the east bank of the Blue Nile opposite the
Gezira. It includes a government-constructed sugax refinery with a
planned capacity of 60,000 tons per year.
The Nuba Hills Scheme in Kordofan Province encompasses about 200,000
acres of rain-grown cotton, largely of the short-staple varieties.
The Zande Scheme in the southwest corner of Equatoria Province is an
experimental project designed to promote the welfare of the primitive
Azande tribesmen of the area. In addition to cotton the products from
this project include coffee, tobacco, sorghum, peanuts, and sesame seed.
A 1959 agreement with Egypt confirms 4 billion cubic meters of Nile
water as the current share for Sudan. When the High Dam at Aswan,
Egypt, is completed, another 14.5 billion cubic meters will be added to
the Sudanese total. Because the Aswan reservoir will flood the Wadi
Halfa area of Sudan, Egypt has made compensatory payments of about $43
million to be used in relocating the 50,000 to 60,000 residents of Wadi
Halfa on land along the Atbara River southeast of Kassala, where the
Khasm el Girba Dam that is being built under an Italian credit will
provide water to irrigate some 500,000 acres.
Land that is capable of producing crops is estimated to be 5 or 6
times the 17 million acres now under cultivation. The present popu-
lation is insufficient to cultivate available land effectively. The
recent emphasis on mechanization offers great potential for the devel-
opment of agricultural surpluses for export. In spite of the current
underutilization of land, Sudan produces almost all its own food. Sor-
ghum, millet, corn, wheat, beans, and onions are the major food crops.
Cotton and cottonseed provide over 70 percent of the country's export
earnings, with gum arabic, sesame seed, and peanuts trailing in importance
as cash crops.
Animal husbandry is important. There are estimated to be 6 million,
sheep, 5 million goats, 5.5 million cattle, and 2 million camels in the
country. About half a million hides and skins are exported annually, as
well as approximately 60,000 camels, 30,000 cattle, and 80,000 sheep.
There is no entrenched landlord class, and fair divisions of profits
have been set in the government-run schemes and have been adopted
generally.
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D. Industry and Electric Power
The Sudanese manufacturing industry is in its infancy -- the 1960-61
contribution to total domestic output was only 2 percent -- but it is
growing steadily. The contribution of manufacturing to total domestic
output increased from $6.3 million in 1955-56 to $14.9 million in 1960-61.
The heaviest industrial concentration is in the triangle that is formed
by Khartoum, Khartoum North, and Omdurman, and emphasis is largely on
processing local materials, especially agricultural products. Local and.
foreign investments in industry are encouraged by the government through
various incentives, and equitable compensation in the event of national-
ization is guaranteed.
A cement factory at Atbara produces a small exportable surplus which
.will be augmented by a second factory at Rabak in 1965. A large textile
mill was opened in 1962; a Japanese mill is presently under construction,
and others are planned. A government-owned sugar factory opened in 1962
with a potential annual output of 60,000 tons; when a second sugar factory
has been completed at Khasm el Girba, all Sudan's sugar requirements will
be covered. A government-owned cardboard factory at Aroma began production
in 1962 using local cotton stalks as raw material, and a second is planned;
a pharmaceutical plant is operating, as well as two refrigerator-assembling
facilities, two granaries, and several food-processing plants. Other large
plants include a brewery and a leather tannery in Khartoum and a cigarette
factory at Wad Medani.
The British-owned oil refinery near Port Sudan will be completed in
1964. It will have a capacity of 20,000 barrels a day, which will cover
all fuel needs. Two papermills are under construction, and additional
new manufacturing operations that are in the planning stage include
fertilizer plants at Port Sudan and Roseires, an insecticide plant at
Wad Medani, and factories to manufacture matches, asbestos cement sheets
and pipes, building materials, tires, soap, pharmaceuticals, and knitwear.
Electric power generating capacity has expanded rapidly since Sudan's
independence, but power remains available to only a small portion of the
populace. Completion of the Sennar hydroelectric project late in 1962
raised the capacity to 70,000 kilowatts. At the beginning of 1962, there
were about 50,000 electric power subscribers in a total population of
approximately 12.2 million, and about half of these customers are along
the Khartoum-Sennar line.
Sudanese Government studies indicate that the Nile could produce up
to 2 million kilowatts of power, but building the'necessary dams and
generating equipment will be expensive and difficult. In the meantime,
most power in Sudan will continue to be generated by diesel and steam
generators for which fuel must be imported.
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Plants with installed capacities of at least 1,000 kilowatts are
tabulated below:
Location
Type
Installed Capacity
Burri (Khartoum area)
Diesel
(kilowatts)
10,500
Steam
30,000
Wad Medani
Diesel
2,240
Port Sudan
Diesel
3,195
South Town (Port Sudan)
Diesel
1,830
Sudan American Textile
Industry
Diesel
7,400
(Khartoum) J
Atbara
Diesel
4,680
Sennar
Hydroelectric
15,000
a. Privately owned; all other plants listed are owned by the Sudanese
Government.
Overhead power transmission lines run from the Burri power system
(Khartoum) to Sennar and from Sennar to Kosti.
E. Forestry and Fisheries
Forests cover 36 percent of Sudan's land area and constitute one of
its major economic resources. Acacia trees in the northern and eastern
areas annually provide 45,000 to 50,000 tons of gum arabic, which is 80
to 90 percent of the world's supply. Gum arabic is the second largest
export crop (after cotton) and the largest dollar earner. Nearly all of
the 226 million acres of forest land is owned by the government.
Although fish abound in the Nile and the Red Sea, fishing is not
commercially important. Lack of preserving facilities hinders signifi-
cant shipment to interior areas or abroad, although a small quantity of
sun-dried, salted Nile fish is exported to the Republic of the Congo
(Leopoldville) and to Egypt. At present, fish is an important food
source only for the tribes living near the upper Nile drainage system.
F. Employment and Labor
Out of Sudan's employable population of 8.2 million (1955-56 census),
less than half are economically active. Nearly all of the workers are in
agriculture -- farming, livestock, and forestry. Most are subsistence
farmers and herders who have little interest in additional employment and
are not normally available to meet the labor demands of commerce and
industry.
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S 1DAN
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
U.A.R.
Intensive cotton production
a
((
Other cotton production
Major distribution of cattle,
camels, sheep and goats
D Gum arabic production
Port Sudan
Fishing
rt
O Major center of light
industry
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Minor center of light
0 industry
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by .cfxs newly _establ shed Stidarres?e Na y.. Length aPso reported as 90 feet.
Figure 4+7. The Sudanese fleet.
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punitive ground strafing, and leaflet-dropping missions; and it could
develop a modest capability for close support with small bombs and
rockets.
Air operations of a wider scope would be limited by lack of tech-
nically skilled personnel. Under combat conditions, the functions
of command, maintenance, and communications probably would deteriorate
rapidly unless the SAF was given foreign assistance. The scarcity of
airfields, the lack of adequate logistic support, and the short range
of Sudanese aircraft limit countrywide operations. The SAF would be
ineffectual against an armed attack by either Egypt or Ethiopia, the
only neighboring countries that posses air forces with significant
capabilities. The meager military transport capability of Sudan could
be augmented during a national emergency by aircraft of the Sudan
Airways, the country's civilian airline. The military potential of
the Sudan Airways is limited, however, because few of its pilots are
Sudanese nationals.
The SAF has 16 aircraft: 4 Jet Provost trainers; 5 piston-
engine Provost trainers; 2 light, twin-engine Pembroke transports;
and 5 Egyptian Gomhoria trainers. Thirty-five of the approximately
100 military personnel are pilots, and the SAF also employs about
50 civilians, nearly half of whom are British.
In Sudan there are 39 operational airfields with runways 2,000
feet long or longer, but most of them are seldom used. In addition,
approximately 47 airstrips either have been abandoned or are less
than 2,000 feet long (see Map 37921 - Airfields and Seaplane Stations).
For military operations, Wadi Seidna South Airfield (currently in-
active) has the greatest potential. This airfield could support
limited operations by jet fighters and jet light bombers. The civil
airports at Khartoum, Wadi Halfa, and Malakal could be used by B-57
type jet light bombers and jet fighters. Port Sudan, Kassala New,
El Fasher, and Juba Airfields are strategically located near the
borders of the country and could support medium military air trans-
ports and early-model jet fighters. Most of the remaining airfields
could support only light transport or reconnaissance operations.
The Sudanese Air Force is entirely dependent on foreign sources
for aircraft, spare parts, armament, electronic equipment, and aviation
petroleum products. The air logistic system is poor, only the main
civil airfields have maintenance facilities, surface transportation
is unreliable, and methods of distribution are inefficient. Aviation
fuel is in particularly short supply, but in a national emergency it
could be augmented by the reserves of private airlines. Petroleum
reserves are almost nonexistent except at the major airfields.
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Figure 48. Civil Police, Wad Medani, 1961.
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All air force personnel are stationed at the Khartoum Army Garrison,
adjacent to Khartoum Airfield. A plan to move them to Wadi Seidna South
Airfield, 12 miles north of Khartoum, is complicated by the need to
rehabilitate this World War II installation. Most basic flight training
is conducted in the United Kingdom. Training in maintenance is provided
by British civilian technicians employed by the SAF.
Foreign influence in the SAF is primarily British, but Egypt, Ethiopia,
and Yugoslavia have provided some training.
E. Internal Security Force
The 10,000-man Sudan Police Force is responsible for law enforcement
and internal security. Since the tribal chiefs retain authority in the
rural areas, most of the police are assigned to the cities and towns.
The police are under the command of the Commissioner of Police, who in
turn is responsible to the Minister of Interior, but in a national emer-
gency the police would take orders directly from the military. The
police force is subdivided into nine commands, one for each of the nine
provinces. The headquarters unit, which is located at Khartoum, includes
a Criminal Investigation Division and a Special (political) Branch.
Small CID units are stationed in each of the other provinces, and a unit
of two or three men of the Special Branch is in Equatoria Province.
The police force is responsible for controlling riots, and for
protecting government officials, public buildings, communication facili-
ties, and airports. The Sudan Railway Police and the police who are
responsible for border security are separate units. The police are
considered to have adequate arms, but they lack the transport and com-
munications facilities that would be required to handle any large-scale
disorder or sophisticated efforts at subversion. If either situation
developed the police would receive support from army units which are
situated so as to provide a ready reserve for support to the police in
emergencies.
The primary responsibilities of the CID and the Special Branch are
to counter subversion whether initiated internally or externally, to
direct security procedures for protection of high-level officials, and
to prevent sabotage and smuggling.
Largely because of British training, the police have a reputation
for efficiency and nonpartisan devotion to duty. They are considered
to be completely loyal to the government. A new Police College with
modern facilities was opened in Khartoum in 1959, and police officers
have been sent to the United Kingdom, Egypt, and West Germany for
advanced technical training. Motorized police reserve companies in
the principal towns are specially trained for riot control. On the
few recent occasions when police have been called upon to disperse
mass demonstrations in urban areas, they have performed effectively.
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An Identity Card Act was decreed in 1962 by President Abboud. The
Act stipulates that all Sudanese citizens over the age of 16, except
those having suitable alternate means of identity (members of the Armed
Forces and Police Force, holders of valid Sudanese passports, and students),
shall possess identity cards. The Minister of Interior has been given
the responsiblity for implementing the Act. To date no identity cards
have been issued.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. CIA. NIS 54+, Sudan, sec 18; May 62. S/NO FOREIGN DISSEM.
2. Army, ACSI. Order of Battle Summary, Foreign Ground Forces, Jul 61.
S.
3. Ibid., Army Intelligence Digest, 15 Feb 63. S.
4. Navy, ONI. Strength and Disposition of Foreign Navies, Apr 63. S.
5. Air, ACSI. Free World Air Intelligence Brief, Mar 62. S.
6. Ibid., Airfields and Seaplane Stations of the World, vol 18, Apr 63.
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MISSING PAGE
ORIGINAL DOCUMENT MISSING PAGE(S):
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VIII. Survival Factors
A. Physical
In considering the problems of a man on foot in Sudan, it is convenient
to divide the country into three areas: The dry area north of 10? N (the
three northernmost regions), the Wooded Upland Region, and the Seasonal
Flood Region. Some portions of these areas are relatively densely popu-
lated, and some are seemingly devoid of people. Few areas can be con-
sidered unpopulated. Local people may turn up when least expected, even
in the desert, miles from any track or habitation.
By far the greatest single survival problem is to find enough water to
sustain life. The whole country is very hot in the daytime all year, and
an active person will need several quarts of water per day. In the dry
area there is rarely a surplus for the native population, and this is
found only in permanent streams or for brief periods after a rain. Sources
of water are well frequented by the natives. Particularly towards the end
of the dry season both people and animals stay close to the remaining
sources of water, and the best places to dig supplementary wells are well
known to the natives. If the evader should be lucky enough to find an
isolated low spot and digs his own shallow well, he should expect com-
pany at any time, particularly if the dry season is prolonged. These
marginal sites in the dry area are less likely to be frequented by people
in search of water during the season of rains.
Water presents almost no problem in the Wooded Upland Region during
the long rainy season., and the dry season is so short that many unfre-
quented marginal sites are available, especially small swamps and dry
stream beds. The Seasonal Flood Region as a whole has an abundance of
water even in the dry season, but distances between rivers or swampy
areas may be great. The possibility of digging a shallow well through
the silt and muck should be investigated before a long overland hike is
attempted.
All water must be considered contaminated and should be boiled and
chemically treated before drinking. If it becomes necessary to drink
unboiled, untreated water, the least contamination will probably be
found in a flowing stream unless its banks are densely populated up-
stream. For years Westerners have drunk the untreated water of the
Baro and Sobat Rivers, in which a few natives and animals bathe, and
have experienced no ill effects. Water from deep hand-dug permanent
wells or from shallow wells dug in a dry stream bed may show equally
light contamination. Water in surface pools is least desirable.
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Little information is available on living off the land. North of the
latitude of Khartoum the desert provides only small animals and very sparse
vegetation, but some higher and less dry areas in the desert may be better
supplied. For instance, wild sheep, standing nearly 3 feet high, are
known to live around the Sabaloka Gorge and in the Meidob Hills and western
Red Sea Hills. These sheep do not frequent watering places but get their
liquid largely from grass. The area from Khartoum south to the northern
borders of the Seasonal Flood and Wooded Upland Regions contains fleet-
footed plains animals who must drink every day or two. In this area of
semidesert and savanna nearly half the cattle of Sudan and most of the
sheep, goats, and camels are raised under varying degrees of watchfulness
by their owners.
Food is relatively more plentiful in the two southern regions at all
seasons and is easier to acquire in the dry season. When waters are low
travel is easier, especially on the floodplain, and at this time both
domestic and wild animals return to lowland grazing grounds. The Wooded
Upland Region has a concentrated supply of fish in the low rivers and
pools, which may be caught by partitioning off a small area with branches
and probing in the water with a sharp stick. Around the larger isolated
bodies of water and along flowing rivers there is usually a dense bird
population -- also interested in the fish. Mango, cassava, palm, and
banana grow wild in the Wooded Upland Region. There are many wild
animals in this region, and, in extreme cases, they may be the greatest
threat to survival. South of l0?N, from Ethiopia west to the Central
African Republic, the hunting is excellent; buffalo, waterbuck, reedbuck,
antelope, gazelle, warthog, monkey, and many smaller animals abound.
"Big cats" are also stalking this game, sometimes on the banks of the
Nile. Leopards grow large in the Meidob Hills and Nuba Hills and to
the south. Herds of several dozen elephants roam the forest edge or
the borders of the Nile swamps.
There is little chance of stealing cultivated crops. They are
usually planted near a village or isolated hut and are carefully
guarded. In the north, where village dogs are found, any approach to
a village garden could stir up a noisy reception. Villagers who plant
crops and then move away for a few months in search of better pastures
usually leave behind a group to defend the crops.
3. Natural Dangers
An adequate defense is necessary against the heat, which ranges from
110?F and extremely dry to 95?F and very humid. Flies are persistent
even in the desert. In humid areas such as the Wooded Upland Region
and along the Nile, the swarms of insects that torture men and animals
are most numerous at night. Adequate clothing is a Westerner's best
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defense. The native protection is a coating of mud on the body and a
smoke-filled shed in which to sleep. This pins down the native population
in humid areas at night, when most travel must be done if concealment is
desired.
Cobras and vipers are found throughout Sudan, and their bite may be
fatal. Scorpions are also found. Their bite, however, is seldom fatal
although there may be severe pain along the whole length of an arm or
leg for a few hours.
Swamps and rivers may contain crocodiles that sometimes attack a man
in the water.
Crossing a river either by swimming or in a boat may be difficult
because of the speed of the current. At Juba in April the Nile is very
low, yet it flows nearly 10 miles per hour and appears to "boil."
The adverse climate of Sudan, coupled with limited medical resources
and very low sanitation and health standards among the people, gives rise
to a large variety of infectious diseases. The extension of medical
services into remote regions of the country, however, is bringing such
diseases as malaria, yellow fever, blood fluke diseases, cholera, smallpox,
sleeping sickness, yaws, and syphilis under better control. The effective
operation of small forces in isolated areas of Sudan depends to a large
degree upon their ability to prevent these infections or, once contracted,
to deal effectively with them until evacuation can be achieved.
The principal diseases encountered and other pertinent data are
tabulated at the end of this chapter.
The following points will be of use in operations in Sudan:
(1) The tsetse fly, which spreads trypanosomiasis
(African sleeping sickness), is attracted by moving
objects, particularly black, brown, or khaki colors.
It is repelled by white. The fly will follow its prey
some 300 yards from densely wooded stream banks, which
makes camping in such areas highly dangerous.
(2) Scorpions are plentiful. The bite is painful and
may cause severe reaction but usually is not fatal to
adults.
(3) Poisonous snakes include the cobra, black mamba,
and adder. All are deadly.
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Figure 4+9. Tsetse fly. The tsetse fly is strong, bristly, and generally
larger than the housefly (1/)4 to 2/3ds of an inch long). At rest the
wings are held flat over the back.
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(4) Jackals and hyenas transmit rabies. The "big cat"
danger is obvious. Crocodiles are particularly bad
along the Nile, making travel in very light river craft
dangerous.
(5) In order to avoid schistosomiasis, or bilharziasis,
do not swim in lakes, rivers, or canals.
(6) Filter and boil all water for 20 minutes. Chemical
treatment of water is a secondary method. Cook all food
thoroughly. Eat foods while they are still hot. Clean
and scald all fresh fruits and vegetables, or after
cleaning soak in chemical water treatment solution.
Immunizations against the following diseases should be given before
departure for Sudan: smallpox, typhoid-paratyphoid, typhus, tetanus,
yellow fever, cholera, plague, poliomyelitis. Propamidine, 5 milligrams
per kilogram of body weight administered intramuscularly, has provided
3 to 6 months' protection against trypanosomiasis.
Clothing and living areas should be treated as follows:
(1) Impregnate clothing. Use 45 parts benzyl benzoate,
4+5 parts dibutyl phthalate, and 10 parts detergent
emulsifier, or spray the clothing with residual chlo-
rophenothane (DDT).
(2) Dust shoes and socks with DDT 10 percent in inert
powder.
(3) Apply insect repellent to exposed skin. Use
dimethyl phthalate.
(4) Use DDT aerosol bombs in enclosed spaces (subject
to logistic considerations).
(5) Spray ground area with DDT, Dieldrin, or Lindane
(subject to logistic considerations), and then sleep
off the ground.
Polyvalent antisnakebite serum is available from the South African
Institute for Medical Research, Johannesburg. Other recommended medical
supplies are included in the table at the end of this chapter. Individ-
ual first-aid kits should contain the following: 4-inch x 4-inch battle
dressing, adhesive strip dressing, chlortetracycline (Aureomycin) tablets,
chloroquine diphosphate tablets, bismuth and paregoric, chap stick, anti-
biotic ophthalmic ointment, aspirin, water purification tablets, anti-
histamine prolonged action tablets, and salt tablets.
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