George Clooney, Google Team Up To Watch Sudan Border

Clooney, Google Team Up To Watch Sudan Border

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010 

A group founded by U.S. actor George Clooney says it has teamed up with Internet search engine Google to use satellite surveillance of Sudan to monitor possible war crimes before a vote that could split the country in two.

Clooney's Not On Our Watch organization says the effort, called the Satellite Sentinel Project, will provide an early warning system for violence before southern Sudan votes on January 9 on whether to remain united with the north or to become independent.

The organization says it will collect satellite imagery that will point out movements of troops, civilians and other signs of impending conflict between the north and the south.

It says the United Nation's UNOSAT program, Harvard University and the anti-genocide Enough Project will also be involved in analyzing the data.

In a statement Tuesday, Clooney said he wants to make sure potential perpetrators of genocide and other war crimes know that the world is watching.

The referendum in southern Sudan is a key part of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended Sudan's 21-year north-south civil war.

George Clooney, Google Team Up To Watch Sudan Border news article came from blogs.voanews.com