| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 60,000–80,000 (1985) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Darfur, Sudan | |
| Languages | |
| Sudanese Arabic, Berti (extinct) | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Zaghawa |
The Berti people (Arabic: برتي, romanized: birti; Berti: Sigáto[1]) are an ethnic group living in Darfur, Sudan. As of 1985, they numbered 60,000 to 80,000 people. The Berti are Muslims who have spoken their own dialect of Arabic for generations. Unlike their neighbouring ethnic groups, the Fur, Midob and Zaghawa, the Berti are substantially more Arabized, having not preserved their language. The Berti's form of Islam combines orthodox beliefs and practices with elements belonging to the indigenous pre-Islamic religious system.[2]
In October 2025, the Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) reported that, following the fall of the city of El Fasher from the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during the Sudanese civil war, the Berti, Fur and Zaghawa, all indigenous non-Arab communities, appeared to be "in a systematic and intentional process of ethnic cleansing", "through forced displacement and summary execution".[3]
See also
References
- ^ Holý, Ladislav (1991). "The Berti of Sudan". Religion and Custom in a Muslim Society. Cambridge University Press. p. 13. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511521102.003. ISBN 9780511521102.
- ^ El-Tom, Abdullahi Osman (1985). "Drinking the Koran: The Meaning of Koranic Verses in Berti Erasure" (PDF). Africa. 55 (4): 414.
- ^ Salhani, Justin (28 October 2025). "Yale report finds evidence of RSF mass killings in Sudan's el-Fasher". Reuters.
