No surprise happened with the South Sudan secession vote. The South is poised to break away from Sudan as most of the votes counted overwhelmingly indicate a desire for independence. There will be a lot of challenges and while euphoria might be felt now, one wonders how most people in that region will feel later on down the line, after formal independence begins in July.

The Southern Sudan referendum has gotten underway and it is highly likely that the world will see a new nation this year. There may have been a few hiccups but that doesn't seem to be hindering many people in this war-weary and undeveloped, not even underdeveloped, region.

A new nation may be born soon in Africa. The Southern part of Sudan will vote in a referendum between Jan 9 and 15 whether to split from Sudan and form a new nation or stay with Sudan. CNN has an extensive article that details the current situation, the historical background, and challenges.
If the area chooses independence, it will be a precarious state of affairs.

The notorious Lord's Resistance Army, the rebel group run by a crazed "Christian" lunatic who kidnaps children as soldiers and sex slaves in Uganda, may be down but it's not out. Unfortunately its dispersed forces have spread to surrounding countries, including Southern Sudan. This area will go to the polls in a referendum to determine whether they'll secede from Sudan and form a new nation. Incidentally, US President Barack Obama warned Sudan's leaders Friday to let the process go along smoothly. Instability and poverty are the main problems, and the first factor is why the LRA can affect proceedings.

Southern Sudan, one of the world's most underdeveloped areas, will hold a referendum in 2011 to decide if it will break away from Sudan to form a new nation. This is significant because this is the culmination of long-time tensions between the North and South, with (at the risk of simplifying the state of affairs) the former's people being mostly Arabic-speaking and Muslim, and the latter being mostly non-Muslim. The area has experienced heavy violence and severe humanitarian troubles, raising fears from some who feel this is part of a plot to undermine the fragile peace in the region and intensify conflicts amongst the people in the South with each other.

The South fought a bitter and devastating war with the Sudanese government that lasted over 20 years (from the early eighties to 2005) and killed over a million people. The two sides signed an agreement that has continued till the present, but with one of the conditions being a referendum for secession. It will be tough if the referendum actually succeeds, given the humanitarian problems and violence, so any fledgling South Sudan state will have its work cut out.