Fighting Has Now Spread Into Central Sudan

Fighting Between Rebels And Army Erupts In Central Sudan -- Reuters

KHARTOUM/JUBA (Reuters) - Fighting has broken out between government forces and rebels in central Sudan, both sides said on Sunday, in a possible escalation of violence that has hitherto been concentrated closer to the African country's borders.

Rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) from the western region of Darfur said they had launched an attack on the army in North Kordofan state.

JEM and two other Darfur rebel groups formed an alliance with a rebel group from southern Sudan, the SPLM-North, in 2011 to try to topple veteran President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

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My Comment: Sudan is a nation state that is slowly unraveling from within. meanwhile the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan is growing.

Coup Plot Uncovered In Sudan

Sudan's Information Minister Ahmed Belal Osman speaks during a news conference in Khartoum November 22, 2012. Voice of America

Coup Attempt Disrupted, Sudanese Government Says -- CNN

Khartoum, Sudan (CNN) -- Sudanese authorities disrupted a plot "to create chaos, target leaders of the country and destabilize the county," in what appeared to be an attempted coup d'etat, Sudan's minister of information told reporters Thursday.

"The act was planned for last Thursday, then was postponed to this Thursday," Ahmad Bilal Osman said. The government's goal was "to have it aborted before it began, and that happened."

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More News On Reports That A Coup Plot Was Foiled In Sudan

Sudan's ex-intelligence chief among 13 held in 'plot' -- AFP
Sudan's ex-spy chief Salah Gosh arrested over 'plot' -- BBC
Sudan says it foils a military coup -- AP
Sudan says arrests ex-spy chief after foiled plot -- Reuters
Sudan Arrests Suspected Coup Plotters -- Voice of America
Sudan Says It Foiled Military Coup Attempt -- Wall Street Journal
Sudan's Ex-Spy Chief Arrested in Connection With 'Sabotage Attempt' - Reports -- allAfrica.com
Sudan foils "conspiracy" against the country's security -- Al Bawaba
Sudan says ex-spy chief held after foiled plot -- Live Mint

Unrest Grows In Sudan

Hundreds Tear Gassed Amid Clampdown On Sudan Protests -- CNN

(CNN) -- Riot police sprayed tear gas at hundreds of protesters who attempted to lead a march after Friday prayers from the two main opposition party mosques in Sudan's capital Khartoum and its second city, Omdurman.

A CNN journalist at the Al Sayid Abdelrahman mosque said that after prayers about 500 riot police gathered outside the gates and fired tear gas canisters at the crowd as they began to leave.

Protesters responded by throwing rocks at officers, he said.

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More News On The Unrest In Sudan

Sudan police uses tear gas to disperse protest -- AP
Analysis: Sudan rulers dig in as foes look for Arab Spring -- Reuters
UN urges calm in Khartoum ahead of Friday mass protests -- AFP
Khartoum: Sudan austerity protesters 'tear-gassed' -- BBC
Will the ‘Elbow Lickers’ bring the Arab Spring to Sudan? -- Al Arabiya
Sandstorm Friday -- Sigurd Moskvil Thorsen, Foreign Policy
Wishful Spring Thinking or the Beginning of the End for al-Bashir? -- Alex Perry, Time
Change is in the air in Sudan -- Nesrine Malik, The Guardian
Elbows and sandstorms in Khartoum -- Mutasim Elagraa, Al Jazeera

Is An 'Arab Spring' Beginning In Sudan?

Wishful Spring Thinking Or The Beginning Of The End For Bashir? -- Alex Perry, Time

Does a week of protests in and around Khartoum show that Sudan is facing its own Arab Spring?

In a bunker hidden by camouflage from Sudanese bombers roaming overhead at a secret rebel base in the Nuba Mountains in southern Sudan, Major General Izzat Kuku outlined the plan to overthrow Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government in Khartoum. The acting battle commander of the Nuba rebels said his fighters would link up with insurgent comrades from two other southern Sudanese states, Darfur and Blue Nile, who likewise accuse Khartoum of autocracy, religious hate and genocide. The united rebel force — called the Sudan Revolutionary Front — would then march on Khartoum. That advance would be the signal for opposition forces inside Khartoum to stage a popular uprising up against the government. And Bashir would fall.

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More News On The Unrest In Sudan

Police disperse protest in east Sudan: witnesses -- Reuters
Sudanese police crackdown on growing protests -- CNN
Sudan unrest: Austerity protests spread in Khartoum -- BBC
Sudan government steps up crackdown on protests, vows to press on with austerity measures -- Washington Post/AP
Sudan: No Reinstating Fuel Subsidies, Despite Protests -- Voice of America
Sudan finance minister: no retreat on cuts despite protests -- Reuters
Sudan 'won't restore fuel subsidies': minister -- AFP
Sudan's Bashir defiant after Khartoum protests -- Reuters
Sudan protests are no 'Arab Spring', Bashir says -- AFP
Sudan edges towards Arab Spring -- The Guardian/Reuters

George Clooney Arrested At Sudan Protest In Washington

George Clooney Taken Away In Handcuffs After Being Arrested At Sudan Protest In Washington -- Daily Mail

George Clooney was today taken away in handcuffs after being arrested at a protest outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington.

The 50-year-old actor, his father Nick and a number of other protesters had been given three verbal warnings by police not to cross a police line outside the embassy before being taken into custody.

They had accused Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, of provoking a humanitarian crisis and blocking food and aid from entering the Nuba Mountains in the county's border region with South Sudan.

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More News On George Clooney (And Others) Being Arrested At the Sudanese Embassy In Washington

George Clooney Arrested At Sudan Embassy In Washington (Video) -- the Telegraph
George Clooney arrested in planned protest at Sudanese embassy -- The Guardian
George Clooney arrested, handcuffed, outside Sudan embassy in D.C. -- MSNBC
George Clooney Arrested at Sudanese Embassy -- ABC News
George Clooney arrested in Washington protest -- USA Today
Clooney, others arrested in protest at Sudanese Embassy over claims of humanitarian crisis -- Washington Post/AP
George Clooney arrested outside Sudanese embassy in Washington, DC -- CBS/AP
George Clooney arrested in Sudan protest -- CNN
George Clooney arrested at Sudan embassy -- BBC
Geroge Clooney arrested at anti-Sudan protest in Washington -- Reuters

My Comment: George Clooney wanted publicity for his cause .... well .... he got it in spades today. I have to give him kudos for his work .... he is putting his "money where his mouth is".

Is North Sudan Breaking Apart?

North Sudan's Post-Independence Conflict Spreads To Blue Nile State -- Christian Science Monitor

The leader of the northern arm of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement says the growing conflict is "about democracy and transformation," not land.

As violence continues in Blue Nile and South Kordofan, the leader of the group fighting Sudanese government forces in the two border states called for a “holistic, integrated approach” to Sudan’s multiple conflicts.

“It’s not about Nuba Mountains, it’s not about Darfur, it’s not about Blue Nile,” said Yasir Arman, the secretary general of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement- North (SPLM-N), the political arm of the opposition group, told Enough in a phone interview. “It’s about democracy and transformation. The issue is about how Sudan is going to be ruled.”

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More News On The North Sudan's Post-Independence Conflicts

Blue Nile: Sudan's new war zone -- BBC
Heavy fighting erupts in Sudan conflict town: witness -- AFP
Sudan army inflicts 'heavy losses' in border clash -- AFP
Sudan Armed Forces Claim Control of Most of Blue Nile State -- Voice of America
Sudan bars aid agencies' access to conflict state -- AFP
Aid groups: 20,000 flee Sudan fighting to Ethiopia -- AP
UN agencies dispatching aid as more Sudanese refugees flee to Ethiopia -- UN News Centre
In Sudan, Calls to Overthrow Bashir -- Voice of America
Sudan bans opposition party, seizes offices -- CNN
EU has deep concerns about Sudan -- UPI
Former US Envoy Fears Disintegration Of Sudan -- Voice of America
Blue Nile fighting could reflect broader Sudan woes -- Reuters
A fragmented Sudan? -- Al Jazeera
Sudan Wars Seem Far From Over -- Simon Roughneen, Huffington Post

UN Accusses Sudan Of War Crimes In South Kordofan

UN Mission Accuses Sudan Of Shelling And Torturing Civilians In Nuba War -- The Guardian

Khartoum is keeping UN peacekeepers in the dark as it wages a violent campaign against its African border people, say confidential reports to security council

The full horror of the campaign of violence that the government in Khartoum has unleashed against the black African Nuba people of Sudan has been laid bare in two confidential reports by the UN peacekeeping force that the Observer has obtained.

The accounts of "devastating" daily aerial bombardment of civilians, "indiscriminate shelling" of crowded civilian areas, summary executions and deliberate targeting of dark-skinned people are contained in a 19-page report requested by the UN security council. A second report details how "active obstruction by state authorities (in South Kordofan) has completely undermined the ability of the peacekeeping force, UN Mission in Sudan (Unmis), to fulfil the most basic requirements of its mandate" in the Nuba region.

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More News On The Violence In Sudan's South Kordofan State

Sudan accused of war crimes in South Kordofan -- Global Post
UN Accuses Sudan of Possible War Crimes in South Kordofan -- Voice of America
Sudan's South Kordofan fighting: UN warns of war crimes -- BBC
Sudan's Nuba People Flee Attacks -- Global Post
In Sudan border state, Nuba fighters ready for war -- AFP
Sudan army denies Darfur rebel attack in SKordofan -- AFP
U.N. concerned by mass graves in Sudan -- UPI

Satellite Images Reveal Mass Graves In Sudan

Satellite images by the Satellite Sentinel Project, a program run by the actor George Clooney, showed visual evidence of mass graves in the South Kordofan region of Sudan, apparently the result of recent offensives by Arab Sudanese forces against black African tribes. (DigitalGlobe/MCT) | MCT

Clooney's New Project Finds Signs Of Mass Graves In Sudan -- McClatchy News

NAIROBI, Kenya — Satellite images from above Sudan have found three excavated sites that eyewitnesses suggest could be mass graves, a watchdog project co-founded by actor and activist George Clooney said Thursday.

The alleged mass burial sites are located on the outskirts of Kadugli, the capital of central Sudan's South Kordofan state. An outburst of conflict there since June 5 has led to allegations that Sudan's Arab government is slaughtering minority Africans aligned with the rival government now running the breakaway nation of South Sudan.

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More News ON Evidence Of Mass Graves In Sudan

Satellite Evidence Indicates Mass Graves in Sudan -- New York Times/AP
US Monitoring Group Detects Suspected Mass Graves in Sudan -- Voice of America
Sudan's South Kordofan fighting: 'Mass graves found' -- BBC
George Clooney’s satellites capture pictures of mass graves in Sudan -- Toronto Star
Clooney's Satellites Capture Piles of Bodies, Mass Graves in Sudan -- Time
Crime Scene: Evidence of Mass Graves in Kadugli, Sudan -- AllAfrica.com
How George Clooney's Satellite Group Is Identifying Mass Graves in Sudan -- The Atlantic

Sudan's Government Under Pressure

Sudan President Bashir Scrambles To Save Regime -- L.A. Times

Short of cash and increasingly isolated, Bashir orders his soldiers to overrun towns in the oil-rich Abyei region while he flies to Beijing to woo a powerful partner.

His nation on the verge of shrinking, and trouble unfolding in every direction, Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir is playing warrior and diplomat in efforts to keep his supporters loyal and his economy from collapsing under huge debt.

Bashir's northern troops unleashed weeks of bloodshed and remain massed in the Abyei oil region near the soon-to-be independent southern Sudan. His soldiers further stunned the international community when they swept into nearby South Kordofan state and the Nuba Mountains to attack tribesmen accused of fomenting insurrection.

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My Comment: Sudanese President Bashir must know that time is running out on his regime .... especially if oil revenues are cut off. He is buying time by waging war against his neighbors, but unfortunately for him and his government ..... economic problems in the north will be his undoing as oil revenues dry up, and aid from other countries (including China) will not be so forthcoming.

Unrest In Northern Sudan Reported

Protesters Call For Ouster Of Sudanese President -- Wall Street Journal

Student protesters in Khartoum clashed with police on Sunday and called for the ouster of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, in a movement organizers said was inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

Communicating via the social networking site Facebook, organizers called for a street demonstration on Jan. 30 to protest Sudan's poor economic climate and political oppression. The date was chosen to coincide with the announcement of preliminary results for the south's referendum on whether to secede from the north. Over 99% of voters chose secession, according to those results, in line with overwhelming support for independence in southern Sudan.


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More News On Unrest In Northern Sudan

Sudanese police clash with students in Khartoum -- Reuters
Sudan police clash with anti-regime protesters -- AFP
Sudan protests 'echo Egypt unrest' -- BBC
Sudanese police, students clash in the capital -- CNN
“Nile Fever” Spreads to the Sudan -- Weasel Zippers
Sudan Facebook group calls for protests -- AFP
Protests Fueled by Facebook Begin in Sudan, Too -- Newser
Sudanese Want The Next Facebook-Driven Revolution -- All Facebook
The Break-up of Sudan -- Eurasia Review

Voting Begins In South Sudan Referendum

Voting Begins in Sudan's Historic Referendum -- Voice of America

Southern Sudan expected to vote for independence.

Southern Sudanese are voting in a historic referendum on independence, giving voters a choice between staying united the the rest of Sudan or breaking away to form an independent country.

The region is widely expected to choose independence.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir called the vote a "historic moment" for his people.

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More News on South Sudan's Referendum On Independence

S.Sudan, in song, dance, begins independence vote -- AP
Independence at stake as S. Sudanese voters head to polls -- CNN
South Sudan revels as a nation's birth nears -- Washington Post
Southern Sudanese Begin Historic Vote on Secession -- New York Times
Masses turn out to vote in S Sudan -- Al Jazeera
Southern Sudan votes on independence -- BBC
South Sudanese vote in referendum to break from north -- BBC
South Sudan referendum starts, Kiir urges for enhanced security -- Xinhuanet
Millions start voting in S.Sudan independence poll -- Reuters
Sudan Referendum: birth of a failed state? -- The Telegraph
Sudan’s impending split -- RIA Novosti

Wikileaks: Sudan's President Stashed $9 Billion In British Banks

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, pictured in November, siphoned off nine billion dollars (6.79 billion euros) of oil money into British bank accounts, according to US diplomatic cables revealed by WikiLeaks Saturday. France 24

WikiLeaks: Sudan's President 'Stashed $9 Billion' -- The Telegraph

Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president, is suspected of siphoning off $9 billion from his country's oil boom and depositing much of it in British banks, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable.

The claims came from Luis Moreno Ocampo, the chief prosecutor with the International Criminal Court who has accused Mr Bashir of genocide and war crimes in Darfur.

He suggested that Lloyds Banking Group, which is partly government-owned, was either holding some of the funds or knew its whereabouts.

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More News On Wikileaks Cables Revealing Sudan's President's Hidden Slush Fund

WikiLeaks cables: Sudanese president 'stashed $9bn in UK banks' -- The Guardian
US embassy cables: ICC prosecutor alleges Bashir secret fortune of $9bn -- The Guardian
Sudan leader accused of 'hiding' $9bn in UK bank -- The Independent
Sudan leader 'diverted funds' to Britain: WikiLeaks -- AFP
Sudan's Bashir 'stashed $9bn in UK' -- Al Jazeera
Sudan denies president stole $9 billion -- China News.Net
Bank denies WikiLeaks' Sudan claim -- Press Association

Talk Of War Continues As South Sudan Prepares For Referendum On Independence

Photo: aegistrust.org

Another War In Sudan Could Cost $100 Billion: Report -- Yahoo News/Reuters

JUBA, Sudan (Reuters) – The cost to Sudan and its neighbors of any return to civil war sparked by January's referendum on independence for southern Sudan could total $100 billion, a report said on Thursday.

The south is widely expected to choose independence in the January 9 vote -- allowed for in a 2005 deal to end a conflict that killed 2 million people -- while the north is anxious to hold on to the oil-rich south.

As the referendum approaches, both sides have turned up the rhetoric and analysts have warned of a possible return to hostilities.

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More News On The Upcoming Referendum On South Sudan Independence

Report: Possible Sudan war could cost $110 billion -- Yahoo News/AP
Report: New Sudan Civil War Could Cost $100 Billion -- Voice of America
Return to war in Sudan would cost $100bn, economic analysts say -- The Guardian
Return to war in Sudan could cost over $100bn -- Africa Review
Sudan: Return to War Could Cost in Excess of U.S.$100 Billion, Warns New Report -- AllAfrica.com
Sudan Independence Referendum May Spark $100 Billion Conflict, Study Shows -- Bloomberg
Observers urge Sudan rivals to end war of words -- Yahoo News/AFP
North-south brinkmanship could send Sudan back to war: ICG -- Yahoo News/AFP
Sudanese Commission Warns Attack Could Undermine Referendum -- Voice of America
Sudan's south says north attacks army base -- Reuters
South says six wounded in Sudan army attack -- Yahoo News/AFP
U.N. mulls 2,000 extra troops for Sudan vote: envoys -- Reuters
Sudan Energy Profile: Oil Exports Over 90 Percent Of Total Export Revenues -- Eurasia Review
Why a Free Southern Sudan Is Bad News for Darfur -- Foreign Policy

Civil War Fears Grip Sudan As South Sudan Referendum For Independence Nears

Sudan's Looming Civil War: Obama's Peace Overture -- Time Magazine

"From what those to the north are saying, I think they want to fight," says Flak Majok Yak, a 33-year-old schoolteacher eating in the central market of Abyei town. Abyei is often referred to as Sudan's "bridge," the crossroads between the nation's Arab-dominated Islamic north and the non-Muslim black African south — but it can be more accurately described as Sudan's battlefield. For most of the past 50 years, Sudan's two regions have been at war, and this town of thatch huts and leaning stick fences was caught in the crosshairs. Now Abyei is once again at the center of a conflict, one that threatens the stability of a 2005 peace deal — and could force the U.S. to strengthen ties with one of the world's most shunned states in an effort to peacefully secure the world's newest one.

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More News On Sudan

Darfur violence alert as Sudan referendum nears -- BBC
North-south tensions threaten Sudan's Darfur - U.N. -- Reuters
North-south Sudan tension could spill into Darfur: UNAMID -- AFP
North-South tension rises in Sudan -- Press TV
Khartoum accuses south Sudan of aiding Darfur rebel group -- AFP
South Sudan accuses north of provocation -- Mail & Guardian
With breakup looming, fears mount that Sudan might return to war -- Kansas City/McClatchy News
Symbols For Unity, Separation Chosen in Sudan -- Voice of America

South Sudan leader Salva Kiir urges massive vote -- BBC
South Sudanese register for independence vote -- Reuters
South Sudanese Register for January Referendum on Independence From North -- Bloomberg
Voters enlist for south Sudan referendum -- AFP
South Sudan takes first step towards independence -- The Guardian
Scenes From Voter Registration in South Sudan -- UN Dispatch
Stakes high in Sudan secession referendum -- Globe And Mail
South Sudan and independence: Pressing the north to let the south go -- The Economist
FACTBOX-South Sudan's referendum on secession -- Reuters

North - South Sudan Talks On The Abyei Region Break Down With Fears Of Renewed War in the Background

No Deal In Talks On Sudan's Disputed Abyei Region -- Voice of America

The US-mediated talks between north and south Sudan on the disputed Abyei region have ended in deadlock. Frantic diplomatic efforts are on to try to salvage the 2005 peace agreement that ended Sudan's 20 year civil war.

Sudanese Vice P resident Ali Osman Taha was reported flying from Khartoum to the southern capital, Juba Tuesday for urgent talks with Government of Southern Sudan President Salva Kir.

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More News On The North - South Sudan Conflict

Talks on Sudan's Abyei reach no agreement -- Reuters
South Sudan 'reneging on peace deal' - President Bashir -- BBC
Members of UN panel to monitor Sudanese referendum begin first visit -- UN News Centre
UN delegation expresses concern at Sudan referendum -- BBC
Sudan President Warns Civil War Could Re-Ignite -- Voice of America
Bashir warns of new Sudan civil war -- Al Jazeera
Tensions Rise Ahead of Sudan Vote -- Wall Street Journal
Sudan Abyei shooting a 'pretext for war' -- BBC

Flash Points In Darfur And South Sudan

UN Worker Kidnapped During Visit To Sudan's Darfur -- Christian Science Monitor

A UN employee that was part of a UN Security Council visit to Sudan's Darfur was kidnapped on Thursday night.

A UN peacekeeper was abducted in Sudan's Darfur region on Thursday night amid renewed clashes between rebels and government forces.

While the kidnapping was most likely motivated by money rather than by politics, the abduction raises concerns about deteriorating security conditions in Darfur, where separatists have been battling government forces for the last six years.

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More News On Sudan, Darfur, And South Sudan

UN members visit Darfur as peacekeeper is abducted -- AP
Sudan steps up hunt for kidnapped Hungarian in Darfur -- Reuters
UN members confront Sudan over Darfur violence -- AP
UN envoys press Sudan on security after kidnapping -- AFP
Sudan attacks Darfur rebels hours before UN visit -- Reuters
Rebel Urges U.N. Delegation to Investigate Renewed Attacks on Darfur -- Voice of America
UN Security Council Visits South Sudan; Darfur -- Voice of America
UN envoys get hostile welcome in Darfur amid new clashes -- AFP

Pro-independence supporters greet the UN security council on their visit to south Sudan -- BBC
S.Sudan might have to hold own referendum-president -- Reuters
South may hold own independence vote -- RFI
Sudan referendum: Leaders meet to resolve problems in Abyei -- Christian Science Monitor
Voter registration to begin in November for South Sudan referendum -- CNN
South Sudan rushes to train police ahead of vote -- Alertnet

Clinton says it is 'difficult' dealing with Khartoum -- AFP
Sudan: Protecting minorities -- Relief Web
Sudan heading for disaster, archbishop warns -- The Telegraph
Archbishop warns vote failure will restart Sudan war -- Reuters
Civil war warning over Sudan poll -- Financial Times

Fears That Sudan Is Drifting To A New Civil War

Sudan Ruling Party Warns South -- Al Jazeera

Minister says independence vote results will not be recognised if southern troops remain in disputed areas.

North Sudan's dominant party has threatened to reject the results of a southern independence referendum unless the south withdraws its troops from disputed areas and allows free campaigning in the vote.

Southerners are just over 100 days away from a vote on whether to stay part of Sudan or declare independence.

Haj Majid Suwar, a senior member of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), said "we may not recognise the results [of the referendum]" in answer to reporters' questions as to what the NCP would do if southerners did not allow open campaigning and did not move their troops.

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More News On The Sudan

North, south Sudan trade accusations of troop build-up -- Reuters
Sudan lays conditions for south independence vote -- AP
Sudan Ruling Party Says It May Reject Results of South's Independence Vote -- Bloomberg
North Sudan Party Threatens to Reject Referendum -- New York Times/Reuters
Bishop warns of new civil war in Sudan -- News24
Sudan calls for world to monitor referendum -- AP
Sudan's north, south pledge on-time referendums -- Reuters
South Sudanese urge world to honour referendum backing -- AFP
Sudan: Analysis: Referendum raises expulsion fears -- Relief Web
Sudanese Official: South Sudanese May Lose Citizenship -- Voice of America
Sudan's North, South Must Not Oust Minorities After Referendum, HRW Says -- Bloomberg
Southern Sudanese Intimidated in North, says SPLM Spokesman -- Voice of America

Sudanese Vice President Urges U.N. to Reject Arrest Warrants -- Voice of America
Sudan at UN urges debt forgiveness to aid peace -- Reuters

South Sudanese to be armed against LRA -- BBC
South Sudan to arm militias against Uganda rebels -- AFP
The shameful lack of international efforts to solve the problem of the LRA -- Alertnet

With Sudan at a crossroads, can US help it avoid another Darfur? -- Christian Science Monitor
Obama on Sudan Referendum: The “Fate of Millions of People Hangs in The Balance” -- ABC News
Crisis point dead ahead: Obama appeasement may rekindle genocide -- John Bolton, Washington Times

Can Civil War In The Sudan Be Averted?

Image from The Wall Street Journal

Sudan's Breakup: Can Obama Help Avert A War? -- Time Magazine

On Friday, President Barack Obama joins fellow world leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly for an emergency summit. The topic of the special meeting might be a surprise: it's not Iran, the Middle East or world poverty — it's Sudan.

Actually, the sudden urgency of the situation in Sudan should not come as a surprise. Sudan is set to split into two next year and the breakup — which has been coming for some time — is not mutual. Southern Sudan, the nation's undeveloped hinterland of swamp and bush populated by non-Muslims, will use a January referendum to secede and form a new state. And it plans to take its 80% portion of Sudan's oil reserves with it. That prospect does not thrill north Sudan's Arab elite, a minority who have controlled Africa's largest nation since its inception.

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More News On Sudan

Aid Groups Warn Leaders at Sudan Summit Not to Overlook Violence in Region -- Voice of America
UN summit confronts Sudanese ‘ticking time bomb’ -- France 24
Sudan crisis meeting set to begin -- Al Jazeera
Sudan's north, south to pledge on-time referendums -- Reuters
Obama leads new UN pressure on Sudan over votes -- AFP
Barack Obama to push for fair Sudan referendum -- BBC
Obama to Attend High-Level Meeting on Sudan -- Voice of America
Obama team lays out incentives for Khartoum but not pressures -- The Cable/Foreign Policy
US and UK to warn Sudan amid fears of renewed civil war -- The Telegraph
World Leaders Back Sudan Vote -- Wall Street Journal
World leaders to address Sudan referendum -- CNN
Along tense Sudan border, UN sees less cooperation -- AP

How Does Inviting A War Criminal Wanted For Genocide A Necessary Step For Peace And Security In The Region?

Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir (R) and his counterpart Paul Kagame of Rwanda leave the Uhuru Park grounds after attending the promulgation of Kenya's new constitution in Nairobi August 27, 2010. REUTERS/ Noor Khamis

Kenya Defends Bashir Visit as Necessary for Regional Peace -- Voice of America

Kenya has rejected international criticism over the inclusion of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in Friday's Promulgation Day festivities. The east African nation has defended its actions as necessary for regional stability and national security.

At a news conference in Nairobi, members of the Kenyan government defended the decision to invite controversial Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir to the Friday signing of the country's new constitution. The International Criminal Court has issued two warrants for Mr. Bashir under allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur.

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More News On Sudan's Bashir's Visit To Kenya

Kenya: Sudan presidential visit 'in our interest' -- AP
Sudan's President Stirs Rift in Kenya -- Wall Street Journal
Bashir invitation was 'wrong': Kenyan PM -- AFP
Sudan: Annan Calls On Kenya to 'Clarify' Al-Bashir's Visit -- allAfrica.com
Court worry at Omar al-Bashir's Kenya trip -- BBC
Omar al-Bashir tarnishes Kenya's landmark day -- The Guardian
Controversy marks Kenya's adoption of new constitution -- L.A. Times
Kenya Charter Ceremony Overshadowed by Wanted Genocide Suspect Al-Bashir -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Bashir using tactics to avoid arrest: ICC prosecutor -- Reuters

Africa Protects An African War Criminal

Bashir Warrant: Chad Accuses ICC Of Anti-African Bias -- BBC

Chad has accused the International Criminal Court of only targeting African leaders, as it justifies its decision not to arrest Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir.

Chad's ambassador to the US told the BBC that justice suffers if it is unfair.

The ICC accuses Mr Bashir of war crimes and genocide - which he denies.

Chad is the first ICC signatory Mr Bashir has visited since he was indicted in 2009.

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More News On Sudan's President Bashir And His War Crime's Indictment

Human Rights Groups Call on Chad to Arrest Sudan's President Bashir -- Voice of America
Sudan's president in Chad despite arrest warrant -- AP
Sudan leader has 'nothing to fear' in Chad: minister -- AFP
Sudan's Bashir in Chad, First Visit to ICC Country Since Warrant -- Voice of America
Chad, Sudan cement ties with defiance of world court -- Reuters
Omar al-Bashir, fresh off press crackdown in Sudan, defies ICC in visit to Chad -- Christian Science Monitor
Q+A: Sudan's Bashir faces Darfur genocide charges -- Reuters