Sudan: NCP regrets Kiir’s call for independence

The governing Sudanese National Congress Party (NCP) said it regrets the call by the President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, for regional independence in a referendum scheduled for 2011. The NCP added that the call contradicts a peace deal that ended a two-decade civil war. Salva Kiir, a former guerilla commander, announced on Saturday that he backed independence for the semi-autonomous southern region in the crucial referendum. Kiir’s comments have added pressure to the already troubled relationship between his Sudan People’s Liberation (SPLM) and the north’s dominant NCP. When they signed the peace deal in 2005, both sides promised to build up a campaign to make the unity of Sudan attractive to voters, says Al Jazeera.