Kassala (state)

Kassala
Basic data
Capital :	Kassala
Area :	36,710 km²
Residents :	2,438,800 (calculation 2017)
Population density :	66.43 inhabitants per km²
ISO 3166-2 :	SD-KA
politics
Governor :	Mohammad Yousuf Adam Bashir

Kassala ( Arabic كسلا, DMG Kassalā , also Kasala ; from 1991 to 1994 ash-Sharqiyya , Arabic الشرقية"The Eastern") is a federal state in eastern Sudan . The provincial capital Kassala is located near the border with Eritrea on the banks of the Gasch River .

The state has an area of 36,710 km² and, according to a calculation for 2017, around 2.4 million inhabitants.

history

From 1919 to 1956 Kassala was first a province of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan , then a province of the independent Republic of Sudan , and included the present-day states of al-Bahr al-ahmar , al-Qadarif and Kassala as well as part of what is now the state of Nahr an-Nil . In 1973 the province of al-Bahr al-ahmar was split off, which corresponded to the current state of al-Bahr al-ahmar. In 1974 a part of Kassala was split off to form the new Nahr an-Nil Province together with part of the province of ash-Shamaliyya. In 1991 the province was converted into a state and the borders from 1919 to 1973 were restored. Kassala was also renamed ash-Sharqiyya . On February 14, 1994, the states of al-Bahr al-ahmar, al-Qadarif and Sannar were split off and the renaming was reversed. In the north another area was branched off for the new state of Nahr an-Nil.