- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has vowed to back the independence of the south government if the southerners can vote for autonomy in the referendum next year.
Marking the fifth anniversary of the peace agreement in 2005 that paved the way for a general election, due in April, and a referendum on independence for the oil-rich south in 2011, he said his ruling Northern Congress Party would be the first to welcome such a decision.
The mostly Muslim north and largely Christian south signed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement on January 2005 to end a 22-year civil war that was fuelled by religious, political and economic differences and has cost at least two million lives.
The Sudanese parliament ratified a key law in December setting up the planned 2011 referendum on southern independence after northern and southern leaders overcame a dispute that had threatened to derail the peace deal.
Parliament also passed a law for a referendum in the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei -- on the border between north and south Sudan -- to let residents decide if they want to remain part of the north or join the south.
South Sudan's president Salva Kiir, who has previously expressed personal support for southern independence, stressed the need for peace, whatever the referendum's outcome.
President al-Bashir is subject to an international arrest warrant for war crimes in the country's Darfur region. And many in the south believe he and his allies have been arming rival ethnic groups in the south to destabilise the region.
The election in April will be the first multi-party national election in 24 years. Mr Bashir is standing for president. Mr Kiir's SPLM party confirmed last week that he would seek re-election to the post of Southern Sudan president rather than national leader.
The SPLM is instead fielding another candidate for the post of national president, which correspondents says shows that the party's priority is independence for the south.
The Darfur conflict has killed more than 300, 000 people and forced over 2 million people from their homes.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español