9 July, 2011 - South Sudan is declared an independent state After five decades of unrest and civil war, South Sudan was granted independence on 9 July 2011 with the town of Juba as a capital. The declaration of independence marked “the end” of intermittent clashes with the north. Salva Kiir became the first President of the newly born African state. The emotional Kiir said after he was inaugurated; “We were bombed, maimed, enslaved, treated worse than a refugee in our own country, but we have to forgive, although we will not forget. Some of our suffering has been self-inflicted. We have squabbled over issues that could be solved peacefully.” The African Union High Level Panel (AUHIP), led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki facilitated the talks between Northern Sudan and South Sudan. The two countries have been clashing every now and then since the declaration of independence in July 2011. In 2012, four United Nations (UN) deminers, including a South African citizen, Thabo Siavhe, were arrested after being accused of spying by the Sudanese army. They were arrested along Sudan’s tense southern border, and were released after three weeks and turned over to chief AUHIP mediator Thabo Mbeki. Source: sahistory.org.za
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 11:22:09 +0000
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