Kassala

Town and capital of Kassala State, Sudan, situated where the Gash River approaches the Jebel Kassala mountains, about 450 km/280 mi south of Suakim; population (2007 est) 436,500. It is an agricultural region, drawing water from the Khashm el-Girba and Gash irrigation systems, and producing vegetables, fruit, sorghum, wheat, and millet. The main market is popular with tourists and is an important trading point for the local agricultural products. Local industries include tanning, flour milling, and vegetable processing. The railway to Sennar passes through Kassala.

In the early 1800s, Kassala was known as the village of Awlad Nasir. It became known as Kassala during the period of Turco-Egyptian rule of northern Sudan, when it was established by the Egyptians in 1834 as a military base. The town was attacked by the forces of the Mahdi in the early 1880s and finally fell in 1885. The town was taken by Italy in 1894 and returned to Egyptian rule in 1897. British forces defeated Italian troops at Kassala in the campaign which led to the end of Italian East Africa in 1941. The town now serves as the headquarters of the Khatmiya Islamic sect.

Kassala

State in northeast Sudan; area 341,000 sq km/13,1660 sq mi. In the centre of the region are clay plains, to the east is an arid coastal plain, and to the north is the Nubian Desert. The climate is hot and dust storms are frequent; precipitation decreases from about 1,000 mm/39 in the south to 100 mm/4 in at Port Sudan. The chief crops grown under irrigation are long-staple cotton and grain. The population is mainly nomadic. The capital is Kassala.