Obviously the situation across what I’ll call Greater Sudan is not good. Civilians are increasingly caught up in violence over the increasingly fraught border(s) between Sudan and South Sudan, which is supposed to gain autonomy in a matter of days, with Abyei the key flashpoint.
Here are some assessments from people who know a lot more about that region than I do:
At CFR John Campbell explains why Sudan’s peace is in jeopardy.
Laura Seay reviews a book about the Darfur crisis (Seay’s been on a roll of late — you should also check out her excellent recent piece on rape in the DRC) while Eric Reeves argues that things there have not gotten better and may be getting worse. (Note: I’m not always a big fan of Reeves’ sometimes shrill approach to Darfur. His clear passion sometimes gets in the way of his analysis, which has been questioned by a number of scholars and other close observers.)
Finally, Douglas Johnson’s recent New York Times op-ed on the North-South situation is as good as anything you’ll read. Johnson is possibly the leading Western expert on Sudanese history and politics.