South Sudan celebrates independence

South Sudan has become an independent nation through a peace process championed by successive U.S. presidents but still beset by lingering tensions from years of war.

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July 9, 2011

A red carpet at the independence ceremony of the Republic of South Sudan in Juba. South Sudan officially became the 193rd country in the world on Saturday, after voting to secede from Sudan in January.

Andrew Burton / AP

July 9, 2011

South Sudan President Salva Kiir holds up South Sudan's new constitution during an independence ceremony in Juba.

Andrew Burton / AP

July 9, 2011

A woman cries at the statue of John Garang de Mabior, leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Army, before South Sudan's independence ceremony in Juba. The new nation raised its flag for the first time before tens of thousands of cheering citizens elated to reach the end of a 50-year struggle.

Andrew Burton / AP

July 9, 2011

South Sudanese dance during the independence ceremony in Juba.

Roberto Schmidt / AFP/Getty Images

July 9, 2011

South Sudan's independence ceremony in Juba.

Roberto Schmidt / AFP/Getty Images

July 9, 2011

South Sudan's independence ceremony in Juba.

Andrew Burton / AP

July 9, 2011

An independence celebration in Juba.

David Azia / AP

July 9, 2011

Citizens of South Sudan gather to hear the formal declaration of independence in Juba.

Pete Muller / AP

July 9, 2011

People celebrate South Sudan's independence day in Juba.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

July 9, 2011

A man dances with fireworks during South Sudan's independence day celebrations in Juba.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

July 9, 2011

A woman holds a candle during South Sudan's independence day celebrations in Juba.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

July 8, 2011

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, center, arrives in Juba, Sudan. Ki-moon, along with numerous other foreign dignitaries and presidents are arriving to celebrate the independence of Southern Sudan.

Andrew Burton / AP

Men in Juba sing the South Sudan national anthem during a rehearsal of the independence day ceremony.

GORAN TOMASEVIC / REUTERS

Northern and southern Sudanese officers embrace during a farewell party in Khartoum held to commemorate the demobilization of 16,000 southern officers and soldiers serving with the Sudan Defense Force to end a north-south civil war.

MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH / REUTERS

July 7, 2011

Northern and southern officers hug during a farewell party in Khartoum held to commemorate the demobilization of 16,000 southern officers and soldiers serving with the Sudan Defense Force.

Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah / Reuters

A southern Sudanese soldier plays the trumpet during a parade rehearsal in Juba.

PHIL MOORE / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Military police from the Sudan People's Liberation Army march during a military parade rehearsal in Juba.

PHIL MOORE / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Southern Sudanese children rehearse for independence day celebrations in the south's capital city, Juba.

Pete Muller / AP

Southern Sudanese children rehearse their dance routine to be performed at halftime during a soccer match between the new nation and Kenya as part of independence day celebrations in Juba.

PAUL BANKS / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Southern Sudanese workers clean a platform at the John Garang mausoleum in Juba ahead of independence celebrations.

ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A girl carries a tray of fruits, vegetables and nuts in Juba.

PHIL MOORE / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A monkey runs before the beginning of a rehearsal of the independence day ceremony in Juba.

GORAN TOMASEVIC / REUTERS

Southern Sudanese boys take shelter from afternoon rains that disrupted rehearsal for independence day celebrations in Juba. The mural behind the boys depicts a map of the united Sudan.

Pete Muller / AP

Aid workers take shelter from Antonov bombers flying over the rebel stronghold town of Kauda in the Nuba mountains in Southern Kordofan state.

PHIL MOORE / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Residents take shelter from an aircraft flying over the hills surrounding Lwere in the Nuba mountains. Hundreds of families have fled their villages in Southern Kordofan after recent bombing by the Sudanese armed forces. Meanwhile, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir ordered the army to fight in South Kordofan until it has "cleaned" the border state of rebels, in a speech just eight days before the south secedes. AFP PHOTO/PHIL MOORE (Photo credit should read PHIL MOORE/AFP/Getty Images)

PHIL MOORE / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Residents hide in caves as aircraft fly over the hills surrounding Lwere in the Nuba mountains.

PHIL MOORE / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A woman who returned to southern Sudan after living in the north carries her baby along with her ration of food aid at a camp in Juba.

PHIL MOORE / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A southern Sudanese man who had stayed in the north for 21 years loads belongings onto a truck bound for southern Sudan at Mandela camp, in the outskirts of Khartoum.

MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH / REUTERS

People displaced by the bombing of their hometown of Jau, on the border between northern and southern Sudan, take refuge at a building in Pariang in southern Sudan's Unity state.

PHIL MOORE / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A Sudanese child from the south, wearing a T-shirt with a picture of President Obama, stands near a shelter at Mandela camp, in the outskirts of Khartoum.

MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH / REUTERS

A laborer moves boxes through tight alleys in the main Konyo Konyo market in the southern Sudanese capital of Juba. Juba is buzzing with activity as the southern Sudanese government prepares to declare independence.

Pete Muller / AP

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