SUDAN AND SOUTHERN SUDAN
Length: 1,350 miles
Why it's so dangerous: Dozens have been killed by bombings and more than 113,000 displaced in Sudan's border state of Southern Kordofan since the beginning of June.
Background: By the time Sudan's 22-year civil war ended in 2005, more than 1.5 million people had died, according to the BBC. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement that officially terminated hostilities granted autonomy to Sudan's restive southern region. Following an independence referendum this January, Southern Sudan is due to officially secede on July 9.
Today: This April, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir stated that he would not recognize the independence of Southern Sudan if its government claimed the Abyei region, which is part of Southern Kordofan. On June 5, Khartoum, claiming that Southern Sudanese militias had ambushed its forces, launched a military campaign in Southern Kordofan. The United Nations estimates that more than 113,000 people have been displaced as a consequence of Khartoum's seizure and bombing of the contested Abyei region.
On June 20, the Khartoum government reached an agreement with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement -- the southern rebel movement that fought in the civil war against the north and will lead an independent Southern Sudan in July -- to permit an armored brigade of several thousand Ethiopian peacekeepers to enter Abyei. But despite the accord, struck with the help of U.N. and African Union mediation, Khartoum has continued its offensive in the Blue Nile state and Southern Kordofan. More conflict seems likely.
ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images


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