Opposition newspaper Al Intibaha, was “suspended indefinitely” on Tuesday 6 July, according to the Sudanese Media Centre. The move comes ahead of January’s referendum on whether the north and south regions of Sudan should become independent states. The head of the Sudanese intelligent services says the closure designed to “contain the negative role played by the paper in strengthening separatist agendas in both south and north Sudan.” The editors of two other newspapers, Al-Tayyar and Al-Ahdath, were contacted by government authorities and forced to rescind articles about conflicts in the south. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is against independence and has called for Sudan to remain united.