Travel Guide Malakal ملكال

Malakal is the capital of Historical Upper Nile and the gateway to Central Africa from the north. From the th century, the city was in the heart of the Shilluk kingdom, a dominant ethnic group in the region despite the present presence of Nuer and Dinka. This kingdom, governed by a reth, was a serious competitor of the Founj sultanate of Sennar, before surrendering to Egyptian pressure, and then to the slave traders who, in the middle of the nineteenth century, settled in Kaka, nearly 200 km north of Malakal. During the civil war Malakal was the main garrison city in Khartoum, as it was most easily approvisionnable by land and by the Nile. The Shilluk were often accused by SPLA of being manipulated by the Sudanese Government.Today, the main shilluk leader is Lam Akol, leader of SPLM-DC since 2007 and principal rival Salva Kiir during the 2010 Mediterranean presidential election. In particular, the city hosts the only mixed military contingents (comprising Caucasian and Southerners) in the country. Through its proximity to both the North and the southern regions, Malakal symbolizes in a way the city of unity, where festivities have been regularly organized to celebrate peace.Located just north of the confluence of Sobat and White Nile, Malakal could become, with adequate infrastructure, a high place on the Cape Coast of Cape in Cairo and on that linking West Africa to Ethiopia.