It has now become difficult to essentially pinpoint what the biggest challenge for people on either side of the World’s newest international border is. And this by all means, is not at all good.

The conflict in both Sudans now has more than one face. There is the ethnical-related North-South conflict, the seemingly ignored Darfur ‘issue’ or the Arab-African ‘issue’ , the oil-related North-South skirmish, and the ethnical-related South-South problem.  The reality is that all these problems in the two nations are deeply complex with many isolated but every so often overlapping conflicts that blur common perceptions.

When South Sudan declared independence in July, everybody breathed a sigh of relief. A difficult six-year process, set forth in the ambitious 2005 peace agreement that ended Sudan’s 22-year-long civil war, was finally over. The world appeared to feel that it could now move on to the next problem and for a while stop focusing on Sudan.
But months later, Sudan’s wars have not ended. In fact they have multiplied with more than 20 states now caught-up in conflicts. New conflicts have erupted in the volatile areas - Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, which are just north of South Sudan border. The western Darfur region is still a war zone. And now the row on oil is.

These conflicts are a stark reminder that the 2005 agreement failed to address the root causes of Sudan’s problems. They are also a reminder that without justice, there can be no lasting peace in Sudan. The world has been continually silent on Sudan. Nobody has condemned the unjust happenings even though the U.N has warned that crimes against humanity crimes may have occurred in Southern Kordofan.

For many of us who have followed the situation in Sudan for many years, the renewed violence is predictable. The international community has ignored calls to push Sudan into making needed reforms and making them accountable for serious abuses. And as a result they continue. This conspiracy of silence will continue to perpetuate the lie that the war is now in the past. When for many for us, it is just starting up. It is only a matter of how soon.

Ben Bella ,Nairobi