South Sudan Celebrates Independence

Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Juba to celebrate the birth of the wordl`s newest nation, South Sudan. Photo by darik news

The world welcomes a new state Saturday as South Sudan secedes from Sudan in accordance with the results of a referendum held in January.

The launch of the world's youngest state was made possible after a two- decade civil war which took the lives of 2 million people.

The Sudanese government recognized Friday the independence of the South.

The independence ceremony in the capital of Juba, scheduled for July 09, will be attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and a host of foreign diplomats

Under a decision of the UN Security Council, a mission of 7000 peacekeepers and 900 civilian experts will be stationed in South Sudan to support the establishment of a functioning government in the new state.

Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Juba to celebrate the birth of the new African nation.

The focal point of the ceremony is the mausoleum of John Garang, the longtime leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, who was killed a few months before the 2005 peace agreement, which put an end more than 20 years of conflict between the north and the south.

The country's official birth is to be attended by top diplomats like UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Former Secretary of State Colin Powell , U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, , Gen. Carter F. Ham, commander of the U.S. Africa Command, and Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir.

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