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.”
eventREF E-0087612Revised
9 July 2011
South Sudan is declared an independent state
- Updated
- 30 Sep 2019
How we know this
- 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)
- 02Sudan Tribune, (2012), ‘Sudan & South Sudan set to resume post-secession talks’, [online], available at www.sudantribune.com(Accessed: 29 May 2012)
- 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
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: 8 October 2026).
South African History Online, South Sudan is declared an independent state [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0087612, (accessed 8 October 2026).
"South Sudan is declared an independent state." South African History Online, 5 July 2012, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0087612. Accessed 8 Oct. 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.
Also on 9 July
- 1915Imperial German Forces forced to unconditional surrender by Union of South Africa Forces during World War I
- 1939Date set for start of Passive Resistance Campaign
- 1987Mozambique and Soviet Union reject Margo Commission’s finding
- 1988Venda school teacher hanged
- 1991South Africa allowed to compete in the Olympics again
- 1995F. W. de Klerk is implicated
- 2000Stampede kills twelve people in Harare
- 2011South Sudanese Independence Granted
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