Southern Sudan Votes To Split From North

Sudan vote celebration

Video: Southern Sudan To Split From North

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Southern Sudan is set to become the world's newest nation after official results showed a landslide vote for independence in last month's referendum.

Hundreds of people danced and screamed in celebration in the main square of the southern capital Juba, as they watched the announcement on TV screens.

According to referendum officials in Khartoum, 98.83% of voters chose secession from the north.

The widely predicted result paves the way for the division of Africa’s largest nation, and heralds a new period of upheaval in a country ravaged by decades of civil war.

But Sudan's President Omar al Bashir - who opposed the split - calmed fears of renewed conflict by quickly indicating his acceptance of the result.

"Today, we received these results and we accept and welcome these results because they represent the will of the southern people," he said.

US President Barack Obama congratulated the people of Southern Sudan "for a successful and inspiring referendum".

About four million southern Sudanese cast their votes in what was the culmination of the 2005 peace deal.

The mainly Christian south has been pushing for liberation from the largely Muslim north for a generation, regarding its leadership as oppressive.

Those voting described a vote for secession as a vote for "freedom", but there were fears that the government in Khartoum would fight to hold on to the oil-producing south.

The division of the oil and the position of the borders of the new state are among a raft of issues still to be negotiated ahead of the south officially gaining independence on July 9.

There is also the question of citizenship of the new state, which could lead to conflict in some areas where nomadic tribes roam between north and south.

There is still the potential for violence to flare along the border region, where forces of both the north and south are massed.

But Mr Bashir, wanted for war crimes in Darfur by the International Criminal Court, has surprised the international community by adopting the role of peacemaker.

Both he and the president-in-waiting of the south, Salva Kiir, have promised to work together for a smooth transition.

"The borders between north and south will exist only on paper," said Mr Kiir, who once led an army of fighters in the south's battle against the north.

British Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the announcement, saying: "This moment is testament to the leaders in both north and south Sudan who ensured a credible and peaceful process."

President Obama similarly welcomed the move for a civil separation of the two nations.

  • Video

    Southern Sudan To Split From North

  • Video: Southern Sudan To Split From North