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eventREF E-0087612Revised

Event record

South Sudan is declared an independent state

Date
9 Jul 2011
Updated
30 Sep 2019
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.”

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How we know this

  1. 01Matt R. and Maram M. (2011) ‘South Sudan Becomes 193rd Independent Nation After Half-Century Rebellion’, from Bloomberg, 9 July, [online], available at www.bloomberg.com(Accessed: 29 May 2012)
  2. 02Sudan Tribune, (2012), ‘Sudan & South Sudan set to resume post-secession talks’, [online], available at www.sudantribune.com(Accessed: 29 May 2012)
  3. 03Daily News, (2012), ‘Four prisoners released to Thabo Mbeki’, 21 May, [online], available at www.iol.co.za(Accessed: 29 May 2012)

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2012, July 5). South Sudan is declared an independent state. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0087612

South African History Online (2012) 'South Sudan is declared an independent state', South African History Online, 5 July. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0087612 (Accessed: 5 August 2026).

South African History Online, South Sudan is declared an independent state [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0087612, (accessed 5 August 2026).

"South Sudan is declared an independent state." South African History Online, 5 July 2012, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0087612. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "South Sudan is declared an independent state." South African History Online. July 5, 2012. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0087612.

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