Kurmuk
Encyclopedia
Kurmuk is a town in south-eastern Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

 near the border with Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

.
Kurmuk is inhabited by the Uduk
Uduk people
The Uduk are a Nilo-Saharan group from eastern Sudan. They call themselves Kwanim Pa and are culturally and linguistically related to neighboring communities, such as the Gumuz and the Kwama from the Sudan-Ethiopia borderland. Due to the recent war in southern Sudan they have been forced to...

 and Berta people
Berta people
The Berta or Bertha are an ethnic group living along the border of Sudan and Ethiopia. They speak a Nilo-Saharan language that is not related to those of their Nilo-Saharan neighbors . Their total Ethiopian population is about 183,000 people....

s and is controlled by the SPLM
Sudan People's Liberation Army
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as a rebel political movement with a military wing known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army estimated at 180,000 soldiers. The SPLM fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War against the Sudanese...

.

Kurmuk is the administrative center for most of Gindi District, Kolnugura district, Borfa District, Jammus Omm District, Chali District, Penawayu District, Bee District, Balila District and Yabus
Yabus
Yabus is a town in Blue Nile State in south-eastern Sudan near the borders with Ethiopia and South Sudan. It lies on the Yabus River.Yabus is linked by road to Kurmuk some 80 km to the north, but the road is only passable in the dry season....

 who find better medical services in Kurmuk. Lt. General and Governor Malik Agar
Malik Agar
Malik Agar is a Sudanese politician. In the 1990s, he was the commander of a section of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement military forces along the Sudanese-Ethiopian border south of the Blue Nile to Geissan....

 currently names Kurmuk the capital city of Southern Blue Nile
Blue Nile (state)
Blue Nile called Central from 1991 until 1994, is one of the 15 states of Sudan. It was established by Presidential Decree Nº3 in 1992 and is named after the Blue Nile River. It has an area of 45,844 km² and an estimated population of 1,193,293 . The Central Bureau of Statistics quoted the...

. Malik Agar is the former SPLM commander who is currently the governor of Blue Nile
Blue Nile (state)
Blue Nile called Central from 1991 until 1994, is one of the 15 states of Sudan. It was established by Presidential Decree Nº3 in 1992 and is named after the Blue Nile River. It has an area of 45,844 km² and an estimated population of 1,193,293 . The Central Bureau of Statistics quoted the...

 state.

The population of Kurmuk includes a number of Muslim and Christian Communities. Many of the Uduk people
Uduk people
The Uduk are a Nilo-Saharan group from eastern Sudan. They call themselves Kwanim Pa and are culturally and linguistically related to neighboring communities, such as the Gumuz and the Kwama from the Sudan-Ethiopia borderland. Due to the recent war in southern Sudan they have been forced to...

 have converted to Christianity. Other ethnic groups include the Igansina, Jumum and Mufuwu in Kurmuk.

History

In January 1932, Sudanese and Ethiopian officials met at Kurmuk to resolve problems caused by Ethiopian slavers preying on villages in Sudan.

Due to the numerous ethnic groups living in and around Kurmuk, many of whom feel marginalized by the Islamic tendencies
Islam in Sudan
Islam is the largest religion in Sudan, and Muslims have dominated national government institutions since independence in 1956. Statistics indicate that the Muslim population is approximately 75%-80%, including numerous Arab and non-Arab groups. The remaining 20% ascribe to either Christianity or...

 of the central government, the city has been a political hotspot since rebellion against the Islamic regime in 1983.

Due to lack of education
Education in Sudan
Education in Sudan is free and compulsory for children aged 6 to 13 years. Primary education consists of eight years, followed by three years of secondary education. The former educational ladder 6 + 3 + 3 was changed in 1990. The primary language at all levels is Arabic...

 in Kurmuk County particularly, the Minister/Advisory of the Governor Steven Amath Dicko convened with his Uduk group in November 2008 in an attempt to tax citizens as means to generate revenues to bring primary schools and secondary educations to every district of the Uduk. To alleviate this deficiency, United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...

built the Granville-Abbas Girls' Secondary School in Kurmuk, which was opened 8 March 2010. The school was named for an American diplomat and his Sudanese colleague who were both assassinated in Khartoum on January 1, 2008.
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