LONDON - Christian and Animist southern Sudan could descend into a new war unless the world community takes action to salvage peace there, aid agencies warned Thursday.
The 10 agencies said a lethal combination of rising violence, crippling poverty and political tensions has left the peace deal close to collapse.
"It is not yet too late to avert disaster, but the next 12 months are a crossroads for Africa's largest country," said the report's co-author, Maya Mailer, from Oxfam.
"Last year saw a surge in violence in southern Sudan. This could escalate even further and become one of the biggest emergencies in Africa in 2010," she added.
In 2009, some 2,500 people were killed and 350,000 fled their homes due to local violence, a higher death toll than occurred in war-torn Darfur in the same period.
The agencies said the rest of the world had largely overlooked the suffering.
Communities said women and children have increasingly been targeted in mainly tribal attacks and the government of Southern Sudan and international peacekeepers had been powerless to protect them.
The report said the next 12 months would see a number of potential flashpoints.
The aid agencies urged the UN Security Council to ensure that protecting civilians becomes a priority for the UN peacekeeping force, UNMIS, at this crucial juncture.
Growing frustration over the lack of development in southern Sudan was hampering the chances of peace, they warned.
Less than half the population has access to clean water and maternal mortality rates are among the worst in the world. Aid distribution is held back by the lack of proper roads in southern Sudan, an area the size of France.
One in seven children die before they are five and 80 percent of adults are illiterate.
Francisco Roque, of Save the Children in South Sudan, said the region remained one of the poorest on earth.
"People hoped the peace would bring economic benefits and development, but this has happened far too slowly and in some areas not at all."
Paul Valentin, International Director of Christian Aid, said sustained diplomatic efforts from the international community were desperately required.
Britain's Minister for Africa, Glenys Kinnock, who will visit Sudan from Sunday, insisted there was still time to avert a new conflict.
"I certainly would not say that conflict is inevitable. There is still time and we do understand what needs to be done," she told journalists.
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