Cheers as South Sudan’s flag is raised

Salva Kiir was sworn in as President during South Sudan’s formal proclamation of independence today.

Reporting from the ceremony, Channel 4 News’ International Editor Lindsey Hilsum said massive cheers rang out as the Sudanese flag was lowered and was replaced by the new flag of South Sudan. The crowd went wild as the new flag was raised, as a marching band played through the cheers.

South Sudanese parliament speaker James Wani Igga said: “We, the democratically elected representatives of the people, hereby declare Southern Sudan to be an independent and sovereign state.”

The hard-won separation from the north was celebrated as South Sudan became the world’s newest nation on the stroke of midnight.

But it is a separation that has plunged the fractured region into a new period of uncertainty.

What independence means for South Sudan
International Editor Lindsey Hilsum speaks to the "jubilating" crowds celebrating South Sudan's independence and reflects on her coverage of the war against the north during the 1980s.
Read more: What independence means for South Sudan

The Republic of South Sudan, an under-developed oil producer, won its independence in a January referendum – the climax of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war with the north.

Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the creation of South Sudan as the start of a “new and peaceful chapter”.

We welcome South Sudan into the community of nations and look forward to building ever stronger links between the UK and South Sudan in the months and years ahead. David Cameron

He said: “Today the Republic of South Sudan becomes independent, and the world’s newest country. This is an historic day, for South Sudan and the whole of Africa.

“The UK is proud to have been a witness to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement and to be among the first to recognise South Sudanese independence.

“We welcome South Sudan into the community of nations and look forward to building ever stronger links between the UK and South Sudan in the months and years ahead.”

Security forces at first tried to control the dusty streets of the southern capital Juba last night, but retreated as jubilant crowds moved in waving flags, dancing and chanting “South Sudan o-yei, freedom o-yei”.

After the sun came up, thousands poured onto the site of the day’s independence ceremony – a possible headache for officials keen to guard dignitaries including the President of Sudan, the south’s old civil war foe, Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

We, the democratically elected representatives of the people, hereby declare Southern Sudan to be an independent and sovereign state. South Sudanese parliament speaker

Years of war have flooded South Sudan with weapons. In a possible sign of the South’s new allegiances, the crowd included about 200 supporters of Darfur rebel leader Abdel Wahed al-Nur, whose forces are fighting Khartoum in an eight-year insurgency just over South Sudan’s border in the north.

The supporters of Nur’s rebel Sudan Liberation Army faction stood in a line chanting “Welcome, welcome new state”, wearing T-shirts bearing their leader’s image. One carried a banner reading “El Bashir is wanted dead or alive”.

Traditional dance groups drummed and waved shields and staffs in a carnival atmosphere.

Future tensions

North Sudan’s Khartoum government was the first to recognise the new state on Friday, hours before the formal split took place, a move that smoothed the way to the division of what was, until Saturday, Africa’s largest country.

The recognition did not dispel fears of future tensions. Northern and southern leaders have still not agreed on a list of issues, most importantly the line of the border and how they will handle oil revenues, the lifeblood of both economies.

At the stroke of midnight the Republic of Sudan lost around three quarters of its oil reserves, which are sited in the south, and faced the future with insurgencies in its Darfur and Southern Kordofan regions.

In Khartoum, just before the split, Bashir, who now leads just the north, said he would attend the independence celebrations later in the day in Juba.

I would like to stress…our readiness to work with our southern brothers and help them set up their state so that, God willing, this state will be stable and develop. Omar al-Bashir

“I would like to stress…our readiness to work with our southern brothers and help them set up their state so that, God willing, this state will be stable and develop,” said Bashir.

Bashir’s presence at the ceremony, while a signal of the north’s goodwill, will be an embarrassment to some Western diplomats. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Bashir, on charges of war crimes in Darfur.

Will independence save South Sudan from poverty?
International Editor Lindsey Hilsum reports from South Sudan on the nascent nation's hopes and fears as it emerges from a decade of war.
"On the eve of the creation of the world's newest country, the United Nations Security council has voted to set up a new peacekeeping force for South Sudan.
After decades of war with the north, there are fears that the new state could be doomed before it starts...
Read more: Will independence save South Sudan from poverty? and follow Lindsey's tweets live from South Sudan @lindseyhilsum