JUBA, July 9, (Agencies): Tens of thousands of South Sudanese danced and cheered as their new nation declared independence on Saturday, a hard-won separation from the north that still leaves simmering issues of disputed borders and oil payments unresolved.
The president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, stood next to his old civil war foe the president of Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who now leads just the north, at a ceremony to mark the birth of the new nation.
Under-developed, oil-producing South Sudan won its independence in a January referendum — the climax of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of fighting with the north.
Security forces at first tried to control the streets in the south’s dusty capital Juba, but retreated as jubilant crowds moved in overnight and through the day, waving flags, dancing and chanting “South Sudan o-yei, freedom o-yei”.
Some revellers fainted in the blistering heat as South Sudan’s parliamentary speaker, James Wani Igga, read out the formal declaration of independence.
“We, the democratically elected representatives of the people ... hereby declare Southern Sudan to be an independent and sovereign state,” said Igga before Sudan’s flag was lowered, the South Sudan flag was raised and the new anthem sung. Kiir took the oath of office.
People threw their hands in the air, embraced and wept. “We got it. We got it,” one man said as he hugged a woman.
The presence of Bashir, who campaigned to keep Africa’s largest state united, was a key gesture of goodwill.

It will also be an embarrassment to some Western diplomats at the event. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Bashir on charges of war crimes in Darfur.
Bashir gave a speech congratulating the new country. “The will of the people of the south has to be respected,” he said, adding that both states had to maintain peace.
North Sudan’s government was the first to recognise South Sudan on Friday, hours before the split took place, a move that smoothed the way to the division.
The United States, China and Britain signalled their recognition of the state on Saturday, according to official statements and government media reports.
“After so much struggle by the people of South Sudan, the United States of America welcomes the birth of a new nation,” said US President Barack Obama, stopping short of announcing any immediate changes in longstanding US sanctions on Sudan that Khartoum has been hoping will be lifted.
Dignitaries including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the leaders of about 30 African nations attended.

In a possible sign of the South’s new allegiances, the crowd included about 200 supporters of Darfur rebel leader Abdel Wahed al-Nur, fighting Khartoum in an eight-year insurgency just over South Sudan’s border in the north.
Earlier, 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.
“Free at last,” said Simon Agany, 34, as he walked around shaking hands after midnight — the time when officials said the South actually became the world’s newest nation.
The crowd cheered as Kiir unveiled a giant statue of civil war hero John Garang, who signed the peace deal with the north.
Kiir offered an amnesty to rebels fighting his government and promised to bring peace to troubled border areas.
“I would like to take this opportunity to declare amnesty for all those who have taken up arms against Sudan,” he said.
“I want to assure the people of Abyei, Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan that we have not forgotten you. When you cry, we cry. When you bleed, we bleed. I pledge to you today that we will find a just peace for all,” he said.

Khartoum’s recognition of the South did not dispel fears of future tensions.
Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir said on Saturday that the newly independent Republic of South Sudan’s success “will be our success,” and renewed his call for an end to US sanctions against his country.
“We fulfill our commitment to help the new state of South Sudan in its first steps, because we want it to succeed, and because its success will be our success,” Bashir said in a conciliatory speech to tens of thousands of southerners at the official independence ceremony in Juba.
Congratulations
The envoy of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah delivered a letter on behalf of the Amir to the interim President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit in Juba on Saturday.
HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah congratulated in his letter South Sudan on its independence from Sudan.
HH the Amir expressed hope the event would mark development and prosperity for the newly-founded nation.

The letter was delivered to the South Sudanese Minister of Defence Nhial Deng Nhial.
President Barack Obama granted US recognition of South Sudan as an independent state after it formally seceded from the north on Saturday.
But even as Obama hailed the “birth of a new nation” after South Sudan’s official declaration of independence, he stopped short of announcing any immediate changes in longstanding US sanctions on Sudan itself that Khartoum has been hoping will be lifted.
The European Union on Saturday recognized the new nation of South Sudan and congratulated the African country’s people on their independence, a statement published in Brussels said.
The EU also commended the government of Sudan, from which the world’s newest state split, on its decision to recognize the new Republic of South Sudan with immediate effect.
“The EU has consistently supported the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, culminating in the Referendum on self-determination for South Sudan,” said the statement.