10 of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).”96 harsher sanctions if peace was not reached. In January 2011, in a referendum vote, citizens of southern Sudan voted overwhelmingly in favor of complete independence from Sudan, and on 9 July, South Sudan gained its full independence. However, just a few weeks later, United Nations human rights experts expressed grave concern over reports of mass murder in Southern Kordofan region of Sudan, which lies that “the UN has received ‘very disturbing’ reports recently from Southern Kordofan that include indiscriminate aerial attacks, shelling, abductions, extrajudicial killings and mass
Some have criticized the United Nations for not implementing sanctions or other punitive measures against the Sudanese and ethnic violence; however, for a number of years, the government of Sudan has outright rejected UN peacekeepers and diplomats. Furthermore, while many international populations of both the South and Darfur, many times this aid was blocked by either the government or by armed militants. However, the new independence of South Sudan is viewed by many as the ideal opportunity for the United Nations to intervene on behalf of the marginalized populations of
Violence in the African region threatens to descend into deeper hostilities with each failed negotiaion and false promise. Photograph. Booker Rising. Web. 20 Aug. 2011. <http://www.bookerrising.net/2009/11/news-trouble-forblack-folks.html>.