In Sudan, warlordism makes for uniquely legitimate military infrastructure. The Islamist government in Khartoum is headed by one General Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s chief warlord, who, in spite of an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, continues to ignore the due process of law and flaunt impunity as some sort of honor badge.

al-Bashir’s Islamist government is known to have been wont to use violence to quell any subversion, suppress any disagreement to his administration, and annihilate his political opponents. In true warlord style, he arms militias to finish off the so-called ‘rebels.’ A quick look at the statistics of Darfur’s ethnic wars would give a glimpse on al-Bashir’s style: nearly half a million deaths in the 6 or so years of the conflict in Darfur and close to 3 million internally-displaced people (IDPs) now housed in a smattering of disease-infested sub-human refugee camps.

To say that Africa’s largest country is hell on earth is an understatement. Now, hell will most likely split in half within two years time, and will do so in an assuredly combustible conflagration. The warning signs are screaming, but those that may effectively act to avert this are either not doing it the right way or not doing anything at all.

‘In 2011, Sudan is scheduled to hold a referendum that will allow South Sudan to vote on severing its ties with the North and declaring independence.’ As everyone expects, the South will vote overwhelmingly for independence. In the past few days, violence has been erupting in South Sudan, and scores of people have been killed.

Via Foreign Policy