Violence Reported As Sudan Begins Week-Long Independence Vote

Sudanese will decide this week whether the southern region of the country will separate from the north.

According to reports, at least 23 people have been killed in skirmishes on the north-south border in Sudan. An Arab militia known as the Misseriya is being blamed for the clashes, seemingly confirming fears that the opposing sides in this week’s referendum are using proxy forces to disrupt the vote. The north and south fought a decades-long civil war that killed 2 million people as the Arab Muslim north struggled to retain control of the oil-rich south, whose population is largely non-Muslim animist. The war ended six years ago with a peace deal that mapped out this week’s referendum, which will end Saturday and could result in the creation of a new nation in the south.