South Sudan celebrates independence

“Our country was born today,” South Sudanese tell news media. “All the days we have been in war, but now our people are free.”

Yesterday, tens of thousands of South Sudanese watched the raising of the new country’s flag at an independence ceremony in the capital, Juba. Salva Kiir, the first president of the independent Republic of South Sudan, signed the constitution and took his oath of office as Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and UN chief Ban Ki-moon were among dignitaries watching the events.

Sudan earlier became the first state to officially recognise its new neighbour.

The world's newest nation was born at midnight local South Sudanese time (2100 GMT), the climax of a process made possible by the 2005 peace deal that ended a long civil war.

The south's independence follows decades of conflict with the north in which some 1.5 million people died.