JUBA, Sudan — Southern Sudanese flocked to the
polls once again on Tuesday, the third day of
voting in the referendum on independence for the
south, bringing the region a step closer to
nationhood.
Long queues formed outside the main polling
stations in Juba, the southern capital, by the time
they opened at 8:00 am (0500 GMT).
The scale of the turnout on the first of the seven
days of voting has already put the south well on
the way to reaching the 60-percent threshold it
needs for the referendum to be valid, with large
numbers also queuing on Monday to cast their
ballot.
The South Sudan Referendum Commission said
on Monday that nearly 20 percent of the 3.93
million registered to vote in the landmark poll --
the vast majority of them in the south -- had
done so on Sunday, the first day of polling.
Southerners have until Saturday to vote on
whether to remain united with north Sudan or
secede, as agreed under a 2005 peace deal. The
south is widely expected to choose
independence, after decades of conflict with the
north that left some two million people dead.
The massive referendum turnout and scenes of
euphoria in the south have been overshadowed
by a flare-up of violence in the disputed Abyei
district on the north-south border.
Armed Misseriya Arab tribesmen killed 10 south
Sudanese civilians and wounded 18 near the
border as they were returning from the north,
southern internal affairs minister Gier Chuang said
Tuesday.
"A convoy of returnees coming from the north to
the south were ambushed yesterday (Monday) at
about 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) by armed Misseriya.
Ten were killed and 18 were wounded," Chuang
told a news conference.
Source: Http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hu4lZRonW8jNJbhedwtwtVPlOajQ?docId=CNG.9af8774bd6e7ae5cbb91bbee978a28b6.731
polls once again on Tuesday, the third day of
voting in the referendum on independence for the
south, bringing the region a step closer to
nationhood.
Long queues formed outside the main polling
stations in Juba, the southern capital, by the time
they opened at 8:00 am (0500 GMT).
The scale of the turnout on the first of the seven
days of voting has already put the south well on
the way to reaching the 60-percent threshold it
needs for the referendum to be valid, with large
numbers also queuing on Monday to cast their
ballot.
The South Sudan Referendum Commission said
on Monday that nearly 20 percent of the 3.93
million registered to vote in the landmark poll --
the vast majority of them in the south -- had
done so on Sunday, the first day of polling.
Southerners have until Saturday to vote on
whether to remain united with north Sudan or
secede, as agreed under a 2005 peace deal. The
south is widely expected to choose
independence, after decades of conflict with the
north that left some two million people dead.
The massive referendum turnout and scenes of
euphoria in the south have been overshadowed
by a flare-up of violence in the disputed Abyei
district on the north-south border.
Armed Misseriya Arab tribesmen killed 10 south
Sudanese civilians and wounded 18 near the
border as they were returning from the north,
southern internal affairs minister Gier Chuang said
Tuesday.
"A convoy of returnees coming from the north to
the south were ambushed yesterday (Monday) at
about 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) by armed Misseriya.
Ten were killed and 18 were wounded," Chuang
told a news conference.
Source: Http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hu4lZRonW8jNJbhedwtwtVPlOajQ?docId=CNG.9af8774bd6e7ae5cbb91bbee978a28b6.731
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