Exclusive: Rising Tensions in Abyei

(The following is the second in a regular series of multimedia dispatches from veteran journalist Tim Freccia reporting from southern Sudan.)

As South Sudan prepares to vote for independence in early January, those in the long-disputed region of Abyei remain uncertain of their fate. Photojournalist Tim Freccia reports.

If war breaks out between North and South Sudan, Abyei will be at the center of the conflict. The North-South border regionis becoming tenser by the dayahead of next month’s referendum on southern independence.

Follow the link for the second full dispatch from Southern Sudan.

Exclusive: Southern Sudanese Return Ahead of Referendum

(The following is the first in a regular series of multimedia dispatches from veteran journalist Tim Freccia reporting from southern Sudan.)

Tensions are rising along the border between North and South Sudan. Many feel that this oil-rich region could be the front lines of Sudan’s next civil war if an independence vote does not go smoothly.

With nearly a month to go before the South votes on independence from the North, thousands of southerners living in the North are flooding back to their southern homelands in convoys of ancient, dilapidated buses. The southerners are returning, they say, out of fear of potential reprisals in the North should the country split into two.

Follow the link for the full first dispatch from Southern Sudan, including photos.

Board Members George Clooney and John Prendergast Visit Southern Sudan, Meet with President Obama

Having just returned from Southern Sudan, board members George Clooney and John Prendergast met with President Obama earlier this week to discuss US policy towards Sudan, ahead of the approaching Southern Sudanese independence referendum in January 2011.

Read and participate in their call for action on Southern Sudan by clicking on the NOOW Feature at the top of the righthand column of this page.

Follow the link for photos documenting their trip.

Sudan rejects US referendum incentives

"A package of incentives offered by Washington to ensure the smooth holding of a referendum on whether south Sudan should secede from the north amounts to interference in Sudan's affairs, a ruling party official said on Wednesday."

South Sudan independence vote at risk

"A referendum on whether oil-rich southern Sudan breaks away to become Africa's newest nation is scheduled to take place in less than four months. But with negotiations between north and south stalled over border demarcation, and preparations for the vote lagging perilously behind, the likelihood of the referendum proceeding as planned appears slim."