Sudan

African clergy say the Republic of South Sudan, which gained independence on July 9, must take steps to resolve an increasingly violent conflict in the troubled border region of South Kordofan.

“If the Government of South Sudan does not sit down to address the issues raised by the militia groups, it could become a nightmare with no stability for the South,” said Bishop Daniel Adwok of Khartoum in a recent interview with the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.

Written By Linda Espenshade

As people of South Sudan eagerly anticipate the official creation of their newly independent country on July 9, their hope is tempered by the realities of increased tensions and the recognition of difficult economic and political challenges ahead. 



Escalating violence against civilians in Sudan’s disputed South Kordofan State is leading to major humanitarian catastrophe with an estimated 300,000 people besieged, cut off from relief aid, and unable to escape fighting, according to a number of aid agencies and witnesses in the region.

Up to 40,000 people have fled recent fighting between Sudanese government troops and members of the former southern rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), in Kadugli, the capital of Sudan’s oil-producing state of South Kordofan, the United Nations has said.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has voiced concern over increasing violence in South Kordofan in Sudan.

There are fears that violence in the border state could unsettle South Sudan’s secession on July 9 and reverse the peace process.

More than 98 per cent of southerners voted to secede during a surprisingly peaceful referendum in January, but the contested areas of South Kordofan, Abyei and Blue Nile have seen acts of aggression by northern Sudanese forces.

By Benjamin Mann

Sudan's north and south have reached a deal to avoid returning to war over the disputed oil-producing city of Abyei, which is due to come under temporary joint administration next month. But the agreement comes too late for tens of thousands who fled the city as northern troops invaded in May.

Written by Fredrick Nzwili

As independence for South Sudan approaches on 9 July, churches there are coordinating efforts to bring lasting peace to a region exhausted by a long civil war. 



"The church has recommitted herself to re-engage in mediating … for a peaceful resolution of the conflicts," the Rev. Ramadan Chan, general secretary of the Sudan Council of Churches, told ENInews on 16 May from Khartoum. The council represents Roman Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches. 



Written by Marla Pierson Lester

As southern Sudan moves toward becoming the world’s newest nation this July, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) workers in the war-torn region see people’s jubilation in the outcome of a January vote for independence – and a sense of the challenges in store for the new country.

Preliminary results of a recent referendum indicate that Sudan's southern region is on track to become Africa's newest country. It will be known as “The Republic of South Sudan,” beginning in July 2011.

Officials in the semi-autonomous southern region announced their prospective country's likely new name, “South Sudan” for short, on Jan. 23.

Written by Fredrick Nzwili

The head of the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) has backed a statement by the president of southern Sudan that southerners should forgive northerners for the deaths and atrocities of the 21-year civil war. 


The Rev. Ramadan Chan Liol, the general secretary of the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox church grouping, said the appeal by Salva Kiir Mayardit agreed with one the churches were sending to their followers. 


Written by Linda Espenshade

Neighbors have warned Rose Nydiar of Rumbek, Sudan, to move to the countryside before the Jan. 9 referendum. In a wheelchair, Nydiar may be especially vulnerable to any violence that might take place as the people of southern Sudan decide whether or not to secede from Sudan.

Nydiar says she’s not going to go.