The United Nations Security Council will visit Sudan next week to lend support to upcoming referenda there which may lead to a new country in the south. The council trip will begin in Kampala, Uganda and move to Juba, the capital of semi-autonomous south Sudan. The diplomats then plan to visit Sudan's conflict-ravaged western Darfur region and end up in the capital Khartoum. The referenda are scheduled for January 9 but the U.N. is concerned that preparations for the polls are behind schedule. At a high-level meeting on Sudan last week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Sudan that the international community has "clear expectations" about the vote. "We expect the referendum to be peaceful, with an environment free of intimidation and infringement of rights. We expect both parties to accept the results and to plan for the consequences," Ban said. The referenda will see south Sudan voting on whether it will choose independence or remain part of Sudan, and voters in the oil-rich central Sudan region of Abyei deciding whether to remain part of Sudan or part of a possible new country in the south.
