NCP

Posted by Nenad Marinkovic and Jenn Christian

Posted by Tracy Fehr on Nov 21, 2011

Amid cross-border attacks by the government of Sudan on South Sudan, and the recent takeover of the former rebel stronghold Kurmuk in Sudan’s Blue Nile state, major Sudanese rebel groups have officially joined forces in an alliance to topple the Khartoum regime.

SHERKOLE REFUGEE CAMP, Ethiopia -- “We left our homes with not even a cup like this one,” said Asma, gesturing toward a red plastic cup lying on the dirt ground next to her foot. Sitting on the trunk of a felled tree crowded on all sides by young children in this refugee camp on the border of Sudan, Asma recounted when fighting broke out in her village in Blue Nile state.  

As violence continues in Blue Nile and South Kordofan, the leader of the group fighting Sudanese government forces in the two border states called for a “holistic, integrated approach” to Sudan’s multiple conflicts.

JUBA, South Sudan -- The embattled area of the Nuba Mountains is squarely situated in North Sudan, but the recent separation of the South poses new challenges for what in the past two months has become the region’s latest deadly front. As the festive mood surrounding the South’s independence celebration tapered off, many journalists in town for the big day turned attention – quietly, given the immense sensitivities – toward the conflict unfolding just over the new international border.