Release International

Release is calling for prayer for Sudan in the run-up to next month's referendum on whether or not South Sudan should become independent.

Tensions between North and South Sudan have been building for months in advance of the ballot in the south on January 9, 2011, in which a vote for independence is widely expected.

President Omar al-Bashir raised the stakes recently by announcing that the north of the country will come under strict Islamic law (Sharia) if the south secedes. This news alarmed southerners living in the north, who are currently protected from some of the stronger aspects of Sharia.

The referendum was a condition of the 2005 north-south peace deal which ended decades of civil war between the Arab and Muslim north of the country and the mainly Christian and animist south.

About 250,000 southerners living in the north have registered to come back, according to news agency IRIN – and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says that nearly 55,000 have already travelled home to vote.

Southern leader Salva Kiir has given warning of a 'humanitarian crisis' facing South Sudan, whose poverty makes it ill-equipped to deal with the influx.

He also said that anti-southern hate crimes in North Sudan have risen recently as a reaction to the forthcoming referendum, according to news agency PR Newswire.

Many elements of the north-south peace accord remain unresolved. Of particular concern is the thorny issue of Abyei province, an oil-rich area which straddles the current north-south border. It was also due to hold a referendum on January 9 on whether it should remain a semi-autonomous region within North Sudan or become part of the south – but preparations for this ballot are woefully behind schedule.

Middle East Concern, a religious rights group, reports that southerners fear that instability in Abyei could reignite widespread north-south conflict. Misseriya Arabs, a tribal group loyal to President al-Bashir, claimed that they would assume authority in Abyei on December 25 this year. South Sudan does not recognise this group as even eligible to vote in the Abyei referendum.

(Sources: BBC, Middle East Concern, PR Newswire, Reuters, The New York Times, UNHCR)

• Pray that tensions between North and South Sudan do not escalate in the run-up to the ballot on January 9. Pray particularly for Christians living in North Sudan who fear increased persecution from those opposed to the referendum.
• Pray that whatever the outcome of the referendum, southerners' democratic right to decide their future will be upheld. Pray that politicians on all sides will remain committed to peace in this divided country.

Update on Nigeria Prayer Alert December 29 2010

Since our report a second group has claimed responsibility for the bombings in Jos.  Despite the Christmas timing and the locations of the attacks it is possible that these were politically aimed, rather than being direct acts of persecution.
 

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