Marco

South Sudanese begin exodus from the north

If you drive around Khartoum, one can easily forget that soon there is a referendum that could change the borders of Sudan forever.

Apart for a couple of street banners calling for one Sudan, there is a feeling that northerners have collectively given up on the idea of unity.

"And for good reason," says our taxi driver Abdel Rahman. "The government hasn't done anything for them to want to remain with us, now it's too late to talk about unity. They had 5 years, they just woke up a month ago."

Rahman however doubts about the viability of a southern independent state "there is nothing down there," he says "but if they want to split, let it be".

According to the latest population census, 500,000 southerners live in the north.