Can the upcoming referendum in Sudan end decades of violence between the North and the South - or will it push Africa's largest country into yet another conflict?

On January 9, people in Sudan's predominantly Christian and animist south are scheduled to vote on whether they want to secede from the mainly Muslim and Arab north.

The referendum is part of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended a prolonged civil war in which around two million people were killed and millions more were forced from their homes.

But with many issues - such as a fate of the resource-rich Abeyi region ­­- unresolved, there are fears a fragile peace could crumble if Southerners vote to separate.

On Monday, we will be talking to Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, a permanent representative of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations, and Ezekiel Lol Gatkouth, a former rebel soldier who now heads the government of southern Sudan's mission to the US.

Watch this episode of the Riz Khan show live on Monday, January 3, at 1630GMT, with repeats airing at 2030GMT, and the next day at 0130GMT.