An internationally brokered peace treaty in 2005 ended decades of civil war between the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum and the black African southern region. The accord called for national elections, now set for this April, and for a referendum in the south, next January, on secession.
"Voices From Abyei, Sudan"
Published April 9, 2010
The village of Abyei had a population of about 30,000 when, in May 2008, violence broke out between government forces from the north and soldiers from the south, leveling the town and forcing the residents to flee to surrounding areas.
In the months since, the residents have been gradually moving back and rebuilding their lives. We spoke with some of the villagers and recorded their thoughts in the following Flipcam videos.
Maleek Biam, a 30-year-old Department of Social Welfare worker, describes the security problems in Abyei, which have lingered even after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the north and the south in 2005. He says he hopes the two main political parties -- the National Congress Party in the north and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, or SPLM, in the south -- can come together and work out a solution, not only to the security problems but ensuring workers get the salaries they are due as well...
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Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on the expectations and high hopes of the predominantly Christian southern Sudanese voters, who are heading to the polls in this historic bid to separate from Sudan's Ar
Celebrating expected secession, south Sudan prepares for transition's challenges.
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Larisa Epatko is a reporter-producer for the PBS NewsHour's foreign affairs beat, producing multimedia reports for the Web site and contributing to the broadcast. She runs the World View...
