Sudan: Beyond the euphoria of Southern independence
11.07.2011
South Sudan becomes the world's newest nation on 9 July, the final step in the six-year Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), a deal that ended the 1983-2005 North-South war. The government is upbeat, but after the euphoria of celebrations and the pomp of speeches, the new nation faces a mammoth task. Exactly how North and South Sudan divorce is critical to the future for both states. Key negotiations still remain - most importantly over oil. Border conflict has already forced thousands to flee, including some 110,000 people following the northern occupation of the contested Abyei region in May.