2011: Southern Sudan referendum on independence

While Darfur has grabbed the media's attention for the last three years, southern Sudan, an area containing abundant oil reserves, has been dealing with its own crisis. In 2005, a peace agreement ended the war between Sudanese Muslims and Arabs in the north and black Christians and animists in the south that had been raging for almost fifty years at the cost of more than 2 million lives. Part of the peace agreement calls for a referendum to be held in 2011 to give southern Sudan an opportunity to secede and become independent. According to the Economist, "rough opinion polls suggest that [Southern Sudan] would vote overwhelmingly to secede."

Since the signing of the 2005 agreement, southern Sudan has been peaceful for the first time in decades; however, recently, southern Sudanese leaders have accused Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, of neglecting the 2005 settlement. It will be up to the rest of Africa, the United States, and China (the biggest consumer of Sudanese oil) to put pressure on Mr. Bashir to keep the peace. Otherwise, there may not be a chance for the 2011 referendum.