99 Per Cent of Southern Sudanese Vote for Separation

Preliminary results of the landmark referendum show overwhelming support for secession from the north.

Get ready to redraw the maps. The world will have a new nation on its hands when the dust settles on Sudan’s referendum, with preliminary results showing 98.6 per cent of the country’s southern residents want to separate from the north. The south has long been dominated by the government in the north, and the regions fought a devastating civil war before a peace accord was struck in 2005. That agreement promised the separation referendum, which saw thousands of displaced Sudanese return to take control of their political destiny. President Omar al-Bashir, who has been accused of war crimes in the south, has promised to adhere to outcome of the vote. Full results will be released in February.