Omar al-bashir of Sudan, blocking aid workers

[Coeus]

The U.N.'s human rights chief tells The Associated Press that Sudan is blocking aid workers from entering the country ahead of next month's referendum on independence for the south.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says almost 1,000 visas for humanitarian staff appear to be deliberately held up by the government in Khartoum.

An official at Sudan's mission in Geneva, Naima Lazaar, says the claim of a visa holdup is "baseless."

Navi Pillay said in an interview Thursday that human rights observers and aid workers need to be in place before Jan. 9 to prepare for possible unrest if the vote ends up splitting Africa's largest country in two.

She says her own request for a visit to Sudan earlier this month was ignored by the government.

[udun]

Good move on the part of Omar Al-Bashiir.