South Sudan Becomes the World's Newest Nation; Follows 2 Decades of Civil War, 2 Million Deaths

The Islam Online website reports that thousands of South Sudanese danced in the streets today (July 9, 2011) to mark the birth of South Sudan -- the world's newest country -- climaxing a 2005 peace agreement that ended two decades of a civil war in Sudan that claimed the lives of over two million people.

Jubilant South Sudanese --in the capital of Juba -- waved flags and danced in the lights of car headlights after midnight, chanting "SPLM o-yei, South Sudan o-yei, freedom o-yei."

SPLM -- the Sudan People's Liberation Movement -- led the rebels who fought the north until 2005 and now dominates the southern government.

Men and women coming out of late night church services shook hands and wished each other a "Happy Birthday." More than 50 percent of South Sudan's population is Christian, while to the north, Sudan's population is about 85 percent Muslim.