Wad Madani

Wad Madani is the capital of Al Jazirah state in Sudan, on the western bank of the Blue Nile about 85 miles southeast of Khartoum, with a population recorded as 345,290 in the 2008 census. The city grew rapidly after the 1925 Gezira Scheme irrigation project stimulated local agricultural development, and it remains a focal point for cotton cultivation and trade in wheat, peanuts, barley and livestock, hosting the headquarters of the Irrigation Service and two universities, including the University of Gezira, Sudan's second-largest public university. During Sudan's 2023 to 2025 civil war the city changed hands between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces before the army regained control in January 2025.