By Peter Martell


BBC News, Nuba Mountains, Sudan


24 November 2009


If one still remained unsure as to who controls the green hills at the geographical heart of Africa's largest nation, the arrival form spells it out.


"Welcome to the liberated areas," the official said proudly, greeting those climbing out the small aeroplane that had just bounced down on the sandy airstrip in central Sudan.


The crest of the ex-rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) heads the form."Welcome to the Nuba Mountains," the official added with a smile.


The scattered settlements of green farms and thatch huts were a key base for the SPLA guerrillas in their fight against the Arab-dominated and Muslim north - a two-decades long conflict fought over religion, resources and ethnicity.


Read the rest here.