Salva Kiir said he hoped a “Yes” vote would contribute to peace South Sudan votes on independence
Salva Kiir said he hoped a “Yes” vote would contribute to peace People in southern Sudan are due to start voting in a landmark referendum on independence.
The week-long vote is widely expected to result in Africa’s largest country being split in two.
Ahead of the referendum, the region’s leader Salva Kiir said there was no alternative to peaceful co-existence between the north and the south.
The poll was part of the terms of the 2005 peace agreement which ended the war between the two.
Speaking in the grounds of the presidential palace in Juba, Mr Kiir said the referendum was “not the end of the journey but rather the beginning of a new one”.
“There is no substitute for peaceful coexistence,” he added.
He was speaking alongside US Senator John Kerry, who has been in dialogue with both northern and southern leaders attempting to smooth the process ahead of the vote.
As the vote neared, six people died in an attack by rebels on southern Sudan’s military in the oil-rich area of Unity state.
Harding on Africa
“After so many years of conflict, there is no mistaking the sheer appetite for peace here in Juba -a hard factor to measure, but an all too easy one to overlook”
Col Philip Aguer, a military spokesman, told the Associated Press that his troops had retaliated and killed four of the rebels.
UN officials confirmed that they had received reports of an attack in the area, but did not say which side had suffered the fatalities.
On Friday, Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir warned the south would face instability if it voted to secede.
In an interview with the Arabic news channel al-Jazeera, he said he understood why many southerners wanted independence, but he expressed concern at how the new nation would cope.
“The south suffers from many problems,” he said.
“It’s been at war since 1959. The south does not have the ability to provide for its citizens or create a state or authority.”
Sudan’s Historic VoteVoting: 9-15 JanuaryTo pass, 60% of those registered need to vote plus majority of ballotsVote a condition of 2005 deal to end two-decade north-south conflictMost northerners are Arabic-speaking MuslimsMost southerners Christian or follow traditional religionsOil-rich Abyei area to hold separate vote on whether to join north or southReferendum could divide Africa’s largest countryFinal result due 6 February or 14 February if there are appealsSouth would become continent’s newest nation on 9 July 2011New national anthem chosen, but not name
Mr Bashir said southerners living in the north would not be allowed dual citizenship, and floated the idea of the two nations joining in an EU-style bloc.
He also raised the issue of Abyei, an oil-rich region with disputed borders.
He warned that if southerners seized the region for themselves, it could lead to war.
Analysts say Mr Bashir is under intense pressure from northern politicians, who fear that secession of the south may lead to a further splintering of the country.
North and south Sudan have suffered decades of infighting in conflicts driven by religious and ethnic divides.
Southern Sudan is one of the least developed areas in the world and many of its people have have long complained of mistreatment at the hands of the Khartoum government.
Turnout in the referendum will be important, as the 2005 peace agreement stipulates a quorum of 60% of the 3.8 million registered voters.
Sudan: A country divided
Geography Ethnic groups Infant mortality Water & sanitation Education Food insecurity Oil fields
Show regions
The great divide across Sudan is visible even from space, as this Nasa satellite image shows. The northern states are a blanket of desert, broken only by the fertile Nile corridor. Southern Sudan is covered by green swathes of grassland, swamps and tropical forest.
Sudan’s arid northern regions are home mainly to Arabic-speaking Muslims. But in Southern Sudan there is no dominant culture. The Dinkas and the Nuers are the largest of more than 200 ethnic groups, each with its own traditional beliefs and languages.
The health inequalities in Sudan are illustrated by infant mortality rates. In Southern Sudan, one in 10 children die before their first birthday. Whereas in the more developed northern states, such as Gezira and White Nile, half of those children would be expected to survive.
The gulf in water resources between north and south is stark. In Khartoum, River Nile, and Gezira states, two-thirds of people have access to piped drinking water and pit latrines. In the south, boreholes and unprotected wells are the main drinking sources. More than 80% of southerners have no toilet facilities whatsoever.
Throughout Sudan, access to primary school education is strongly linked to household earnings. In the poorest parts of the south, less than 1% of children finish primary school. Whereas in the wealthier north, up to 50% of children complete primary level education.
Conflict and poverty are the main causes of food insecurity in Sudan. The residents of war-affected Darfur and Southern Sudan are still greatly dependent on food aid. Far more than in northern states, which tend to be wealthier, more urbanised and less reliant on agriculture.
Sudan exports billions of dollars of oil per year. Southern states produce more than 80% of it, but receive only 50% of the revenue, exacerbating tensions with the north. The oil-rich border region of Abyei is to hold a separate vote on whether to join the north or the south.
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