It was the center of the Sultanate of Darfur and contained both its capital al-Fashir and its biggest trading city Kobbei.

Former lieutenant general, Armed Forces Chief of Staff, and defense minister Ibrahim Suleiman Hassan served as governor of North Darfur from 2001 to 2003, until being dismissed by al-Bashir.

[citation needed] North Darfur has been a major flashpoint during the ongoing civil war.

In the southern portion the most important crops are millet, maize and peanuts.

[7] North Darfur is bounded on the northwest by Libya, on the north by Northern State, on the east by Northern State and North Kurdufan, on the southeast by South Kurdufan, on the south by South Darfur, and on the west by West Darfur and the Republic of Chad.