Aid groups warn of Sudan civil war risk

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Ten international aid groups say a 2005 peace deal in Sudan is on the verge of collapse and that the world must act now to prevent renewed conflict.

The agencies blamed a "lethal cocktail" of rising violence, chronic poverty and political tensions.

The oil-rich south is due to hold a referendum on independence in 2011.

The peace deal five years ago ended a 22-year civil war that left some 1.5 million people dead. The region remains one of the poorest areas of the world.

The peace deal saw President Omar al-Bashir's northern National Congress Party (NCP) enter government with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) rebels from the south.

But tensions are again rising between the former enemies in the run-up to the referendum and April's general election - the first nationwide poll for 24 years.

The SPLM has accused the NCP of stirring up ethnic violence in the south to destabilise the region ahead of the polls - charges the northern party denies.

More people died from violence in southern Sudan last year than in Darfur.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8444843.stm