Southern Sudan (officially known as the Government of Southern Sudan), is located in Africa with Juba as its capital city. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the east, Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, and the Central African Republic to the west. To the north lies the predominantly Arab and Muslim region directly under the control of the central government, with its capital at Khartoum. Southern Sudan includes the vast swamp region of the Sudd formed by the White Nile, locally called the Bahr el Jebel. The region's autonomous status is a condition of a peace agreement between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army and the Government of Sudan represented by the National Congress Party ending the Second Sudanese Civil War. The conflict was Africa's longest running civil war . A referendum on independence for Southern Sudan is scheduled to be held in January 2011.