Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Khartoum its see, the present Sudanese capital, as its southern territory was split off to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Bahr el-Ghazal, which is now the Diocese of Wau, somewhat approximating the split between Sudan and South Sudan. However it continued to cover Niger, Chad and stretched into modern Nigeria and Cameroon. On 28 April 1914 the Apostolic Prefecture of Adamaua (now the Diocese of Nkongsamba) was formed, taking territory from the Apostolic Vicariate of Khartoum. It lost territories again to establish missionary jurisdictions becoming current dioceses : On 12 December 1974 it was promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Khartoum. In
Siege of Khartoum stores dwindled and starvation began to set in for both the garrison and the civilian population. Communication was kept through couriers while Gordon also kept in contact with the Mahdi, who rejected his offers of peace and to lift the siege. On 16 September an expedition sent from Khartoum to Sennar was defeated by the Mahdists, which resulted in the death of over 800 garrison troops at Al Aylafuh. By the end of the month, the Mahdi moved the bulk of his army to Khartoum, more than doubling the number already besieging it. As of 10 September 1884, the civilian