The U.S. Department of State reported Nov. 8 that the United States will take Sudan off its list of state sponsors of terrorism if a referendum planned for January is carried out peacefully and the results are respected.
The upcoming referendum on Jan. 9, 2011, will determine whether Southern Sudan will secede from the north to form its own nation.
Experts fear that the referendum could be delayed, or worse, that a possible secession of the south may engulf the country in conflict and destabilize the region.
The referendum is the last step in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that put an end to over 20 years of civil war between the north and the south that left 2 million people dead.
In October, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir warned of the possibility of another civil war between the north and south if issues of border demarcation, citizenship, wealth, national debt, and water are not resolved before the referendum.
With additional reporting by Kremena Krumova
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