Rumors of war

Sudan | Hostilities between north and south could spell the beginning of the end of peace in Sudan | Priya Abraham

Standing Guard: A Sudanese soldier awaits the visit of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Juba Sept. 4.

After 20 years of north-south civil war came a historic peace in Sudan, but at two years old it is in danger. Following provocations from the north this month, including a military stand-off, locals and Sudan analysts believe the two sides will soon go back to fighting.

Khartoum signaled a return to hostilities on Sept. 6 when the north's armed forces in tanks and mounted Toyota trucks seized some 70 troops and generals from the south's Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in South Kordofan. The seizure took place even as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was in the vicinity, touring Sudan to promote peace in his first visit at the UN post.

According to southern officials, the SPLA were there to organize tribal militias from Darfur, the western region now at war with Khartoum. Such maneuvers are permitted under the peace deal, which says militias in the country who once fought with Khartoum or the SPLA must now absorb into one or the other side. The Darfur militias, who once sided with the north, are now uniting with the south. That "must have been a shock" to Khartoum, said John Ashworth, a Sudan analyst with the Denis Hurley Peace Institute in South Africa.