There he found "a young Egyptian officer in charge of a small Government post, but he apparently had had no communications with anyone since the river Sobat had fallen, and was anxiously awaiting its rise in hopes of a steamer to replenish his stores.

"[2] SPLA-Nasir, a splinter faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Army active from 1991 to 1994, derived their name from the town because it was their base.

[citation needed] In 1991 local rebel leader Riek Machar used Nasir as his base of operations.

In May 1991 large numbers of refugees fleeing the civil war in Ethiopia descended on Nasir, swelling the local population from a few hundred to tens of thousands.

The local airstrip is reputed to have been built by the RAF in the 1930s as a point en route from Khartoum to Nairobi.