Satellites monitor Sudan for war crimes

(GETTY IMAGES)

Groups including the United Nations, Harvard University, Google and an organisation co-founded by actor George Clooney are launching a project using satellites to "watch" Sudan for war crimes before a vote that could split the country in two.

The Satellite Sentinel Project is intended to provide an "early warning system" for human rights and security violations before the referendum on 9 January on whether to divide Sudan into north and south.

"We want to let potential perpetrators of genocide and other war crimes know that we're watching, the world is watching," said a statement by Mr Clooney's Not On Our Watch organisation.

Under the project, commercial satellites over northern and southern Sudan will photograph any burned and bombed villages, mass movements of people or other evidence of violence.