KHARTOUM, Sudan, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- If Southern Sudan votes to separate from the North, it will take along its share of international debt, a Sudanese government minister said in Khartoum Tuesday.
In all, the country owes some $34 billion to foreign lenders, the KUNA news agency said.
Minister of Information Sana Hamad told the news service the ongoing week-long referendum on secession in the south carried a price tag for would-be separatists, as Khartoum wouldn't assume the region's debt in the event of a split.
She said the government was preparing an international appeal to lender countries to write off Sudan's debt entirely.
The country is divided along ethnic and religious lines, with the north primarily Muslim and the south mostly Christian. UPI
