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Southern Sudan awaits independence, perhaps more violence
Hidden behind a cluster of mud huts on the banks of Sudan's White Nile, youthful soldiers perch atop Soviet-era battle tanks and anti-aircraft-mounted trucks, the dark contours of their faces a wavy blur under the midday sun.
They're members of Southern Sudan's military, a rebel army that waged 20 years of guerrilla warfare against Sudan's northern government. But today, these young men are neither fighting a rebellion nor have they laid down their arms.
They're waiting in suspense, as they have for most of the last six years, after a U.S.-backed peace deal created a cease-fire arrangement that's set to end in about three weeks.
"We have an objective beyond this, and we want to achieve it at all cost," said Maj. Gen. Gabriel Jok Riak, a boyish-faced general who commands the first of 10 divisions in the Southern Sudan army, known still by its rebel moniker Sudan People's Liberation Army.
The general is referring to the peace deal's grand finale: a referendum. On Jan. 9, Southern Sudan is set to vote on seceding from the rest of Sudan and forming a new country. According to the deal, independence then could come six months later.