Published September 15th, 2009 by Future Atlas
Two Years Till Another Sudanese Disaster?
Jon Norris at Foreign Policy points out that Sudan is scheduled to self-destruct — probably — in two years.
In 2011, the African south of the country is supposed to vote on separation from the more Arab and Muslim north. “Almost every observer has concluded that if this referendum happens, the South will vote overwhelmingly for independence, sundering in half the largest country in Africa,” Norris writes.
The split could be bloody. Norris notes reports that the Sudanese government is likely arming proxy forces, including the Christian cultist Lord’s Resistance Army, possibly with the goal of halting the referendum or seizing territory from the southern regions.
And, suggests Norris, events in Darfur would suggest to Sudan that the consequences of misbehavior in the south are likely to be low.
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