Sudan is the largest country in Africa. Some say it is the most beleaguered country in the continent. It is also on the verge of yet another north/south civil war. Peace negotiators have failed. With the incoming and impending referendum that can give opportunity for south Sudan to claim self-determination and separate itself from the rest of the country, many critics are saying that south Sudan will surely, indeed, fight to separate. ‘A renewed war could be the most widespread and destructive in the country’s half century of independence.’ The two-year delayed referendum is scheduled for January 2011.

In 2005, a peace agreement entitled “Comprehensive Peace Agreement” (CPA), brokered between the currently-seated National Islamic Front/National Congress Party (NIF/NCP) regime in Khartoum and the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) brought to a seeming close one of Africa’s longest civil wars. In reality, the peace pact only had ‘nominal agreement on security, wealth sharing, and governance issues.’ Now, ‘only quick, concerted international action can avert a nationwide war and keep the peace.’

The radical Islamist regime in Khartoum has reneged on key elements of the agreement mainly because ‘the international community – including the African Union, the US, the European Union, and China – has not taken implementation of the peace agreement seriously enough for oil-rich Sudan.’

The self-determination vote is considered to be the last straw in a very tense and volatile political environment in Sudan. ‘Potential war could quickly escalate to include other marginalized regions within Sudan, including the Darfur region of western Sudan. That’s why Khartoum’s refusal to demarcate the north/south border, one of its most fundamental obligations under the terms of the 2005 agreement, is of urgent concern. This refusal has led to dangerous military escalation on both sides of a region lying in the midst of Sudan’s very large oil reserves.’

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Via The Christian Science Monitor