Reply #5: Kerry meets with S Sudan leader and gives him a cowboy hat

[karynnj]

http://195.190.28.213/node/8177

He also visited Dafur and spoke of how that needs to be dealt with.

The United States and other powers should back a fresh round of "high profile" peace talks to resolve Sudan's Darfur conflict as current efforts are not working, influential U.S. Senator John Kerry said on Friday.

Kerry told Reuters in an interview that negotiations run by the United Nations and the African Union and hosted by Qatar's government had gone "under the radar" and needed to be moved to a more prominent venue, supported by more international players.
< it looks like that conflict is NOT moving in the right direction >

Sudan last week pulled its negotiators out of the Qatari capital Doha, the scene of months of floundering discussions between Khartoum and Darfur's fractured insurgent factions, many of whom have boycotted parts of the proceedings.

Clashes between Khartoum's forces and all Darfur rebel groups, even with the only one that signed a 2006 peace accord, have reignited in recent months, forcing thousands to flee their homes.

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE70700R20110108

This suggests the complexity of the multiple problems. Even in the best case, where the referendum goes smoothly and the period of splitting the two countries goes amicably - the latter being prone to violence, there still is the issue of Darfur.