News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

23 December 2010 – As the Southern Sudan self-determination referendum rapidly approaches, the Upper Nile State Referendum High Committee and UNMIS completed a two-day training on polling and counting today in Malakal. A training-of-trainers exercise, the activity was attended by 46 participants…

31 December 2010 – UN Police (UNPOL) advisers visited a camp for street children in the Upper Nile State capital of Malakal on the last day of the year and donated T-shirts and first aid supplies to the camp's staff. Present at the event was UNPOL Protection Officer Anna Karlsson and the Upper Nile…

31 December 2010 – With just over a week left before voting in Southern Sudan's long-awaited referendum begins on 9 January, distribution of ballot papers and other materials to polling centres in Western Bahr El-Ghazal and Warrap states has concluded. Agoth Ngot Riiny of the Warrap State Referendum…

On this day of commemoration of the 55th anniversary of Sudan's Independence, I would like first to wish all Sudanese a happy Independence day. They can all be proud of having achieved liberation from colonial rule in 1956 and I am happy to join them in celebrating this great moment of their history…

2 January 2011 – In a continuing effort to reach areas inaccessible by road, UNMIS airlifted voting materials to the Central Equatoria State payam of Tali today, just a week before balloting begins in Southern Sudan's long-awaited self-determination referendum. The materials included ballot papers…

Armed with clean sheets of paper and pencils, teenagers were drawing clouds, trees and solid houses in central Omdurman's Felah Centre before returning to the streets, where most of them lived. "We come from the street," said 17-year-old Ibtisam Mohammed, a lanky girl dressed in colourful clothes…

The flagship of the Roman Catholic Church in the greater Bahr El-Ghazal region of Southern Sudan is the cathedral of Wau. Opened in 1956, it is an imposing brick structure replete with cupola and rose window and ranks as the largest of Sudan's five Catholic cathedrals. The roots of Roman Catholicism…

Tens of thousands of internally displaced Sudanese have been heading back to their southern roots with little more than a few household items and the shirts on their backs. Initially, they struggled to return from the north ahead of the country's upcoming self-determination referenda on their own…

4 January 2011 – Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir made a whirlwind visit to Juba today in what may mark his final trip to the southern capital as leader of a united Sudan. Upon his arrival at Juba International Airport Tuesday morning, President Bashir was given a red carpet welcome by First Vice…

5 January 2011 - Members of the UN Secretary-General's panel tasked with monitoring Southern Sudan's upcoming referenda on self-determination arrived in Khartoum today to begin a critical visit on the eve of voting. The three-member panel will travel around the country this month as they monitor the…

5 January 2011 - A ceasefire framework agreement was signed today by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and representatives of the renegade SPLA general, George Athor, in Juba just four days before voting begins in the long-awaited Southern Sudan referendum. The ceasefire agreement was…

5 January 2011 - UNMIS Sector Coordinator Hendrik Bruyn today officially opened the first UNMIS Referendum Support Base (RSB) in Renk County, Upper Nile State. Participants at the inauguration included Renk County Commissioner Deng Akueu and UNMIS Sector Administrative Officer Thadeus Boyle. "In…