A national census, which was a vital step in the ending of years of civil war in Sudan, has begun.

It will help determine the way power and wealth is shared between Sudan's north and the oil-rich south ahead of next year's national polls.

The census was a key part of the peace deal signed in 2005, but the South says it will not be bound by the outcome.

In the troubled western Darfur region, many are refusing to take part in the count and rebel groups are opposing it.

Sudanese stand up to be counted

From the outset, the census has shown the ongoing distrust between the two former enemies from north and south, who are now joined in a national coalition government, supposedly as partners in peace, says the BBC's Amber Henshaw in Khartoum.

It has not helped that much of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is still to be implemented - like demarcating the exact border between north and south and the status of the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei.

The south threatened to postpone the census until the end of the year, concerned that many southerners had not managed to get home in time - claiming this may skew the results.

After huge international pressure, they agreed it could go ahead, but said they would not be bound by the outcome which many fear could lead to fresh disputes down the line.

Darfur thorn

In the war-torn west of the country, Darfur's rebel groups are united in opposition against the census.

The chairman of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement and commander in chief of the Sudan Liberation Army in Darfur, Ahmed Abdelshafi Toba, has warned they will try to stop the count going ahead.

"In the first place we don't have that national say [consensus] to have a national census. Secondly, a census requires peace in the country and we don't have that peace in the country; the country is still at war," he told the BBC's Network Africa program.

"And the third thing also the census requires relative stability, and Sudan as a country has witnessed so many internal mass migrations from the rural sites to the centre.

"And third point also is that the census requires raising awareness for a sufficient time before holding such a process.

In addition to the political problems, the census planners have also been faced with huge logistical challenges.

Mapping Africa's largest country has been difficult - large areas are inaccessible in Darfur because of continuing fighting and in the south because of landmines, our correspondent adds.

PHOTO CAPTION

A man walks past a balloon advertising Sudan's 5th Population and Housing Census in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on April 20, 2008.

BBC