George Clooney in Sudan for historic election

JUBA, Sudan Around 4 million southern Sudanese voters lined up to start casting their ballots in a week-long referendum on independence that could split the nation in two. The oil-rich, mainly Christian south is widely expected to secede from the mainly Muslim north.

"This is a country that has a real chance. It has an infrastructure, it's fragile but it's better than most and it has a real chance to make it," Clooney said.

Clooney is hoping to draw world attention to the cause and help the region avoid a backslide toward war.

The referendum comes about five years after the end of a brutal civil war that left 2 million people dead.