On January 9, 201,1 Southern Sudanese will decide whether they will become an independent nation.
The Small Arms Surevy reports that the entire border area between North an South is heavily militarized and unstable, as both sides compete for strategic resources of which oil is the most significant one.
Sudan is sub-Saharan Africa’s third-largest producer of crude oil, pumping about 480,000 barrels a day.
The South accounts for a little over 80 percent of the country’s oil fields.
That figure may rise to 95 percent if two disputed fields along the border, Heglig and Bamboo, are included.
Both fields are located close to the disputed region of Abyei, which is also scheduled to hold a referendum in January to decide whether to be part of the North or the South.