"Today we shall raise the flag of South Sudan to join the nations of the world," said Pagan Amum, the secretary general of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement, speaking at the base of a giant flagpole after independence was declared.
Celebrations were not dimmed by the daunting problems faced by South Sudan , born as one of the poorest and most war-ravaged nations on Earth despite massive, under-developed oil resources.
From early morning, thousands started to arrive at the official venue of Saturday's celebrations in the capital Juba, singing songs and carrying flags. Bells rang out in churches as midnight arrived, the moment of independence. The streets of the dusty city on banks of the White Nile were patrolled by heavily-armed soldiers.
William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, was among the dignitaries due to attend a historic ceremony, along with 30 African leaders and senior Western officials.
"I have not slept all night, we have been dancing and singing and praising God all night for this our independence," said Mary Ajah, 28, who spent the evening with her congregation at her Protestant church in Juba, the capital.
"Not since Adam and Eve walked the Earth have South Sudanese had freedom, until today."
Valentino Achak Deng, a former refugee from the war, said: "Really in my heart what makes me happiest is that from today, when people ask me where I am from, I do not have to say Sudan."
"Before, we were associated in statehood with the very people trying to exterminate us." South Sudan's independence comes exactly six months after a referendum in which predominantly Christian southerners voted almost unanimously to split with their former civil war enemies in the north of Sudan, which is mostly Muslim.
For decades, until a peace agreement was signed in 2005, southern rebels fought a series of wars with the north, leaving the region in ruins, two million dead and a legacy of mutual mistrust.
Military parades, prayers and a performance of the new national anthem were due early in the morning, followed by the declaration of independence, the raising of the Republic of South Sudan's flag and the swearing of an oath of office by the new country's first president, Salva Kiir.
Southern officials have said the chief guest of honour at the celebrations would be Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, the south's old enemy and a leader who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur.
Alain Juppe, the French Foreign Minister, has already said he will try to avoid an encounter with Mr Bashir at the independence ceremony.
But Sudan was among the first countries to officially recognise the fledgling nation, which needs all the help it can get to overcome the vast challenges of building a stable and prosperous future.
Northern and southern leaders have still not agreed on a list of issues, most importantly the line of the border and how they will handle oil revenues, the lifeblood of both economies. Sudan, which was Africa's biggest nation until midnight on Friday, has lost much of its oil reserves to the new nation.
The Nuba Mountains on the border between Sudan and the new nation has recently been the scene of deadly clashes between northern troops and pro-southern militia. The United Nations Security Council voted on Friday to establish a force of up to 7,000 peacekeepers for South Sudan.
At 0000  Saturday (2100  Friday), the Republic of South Sudan achieved independent recognition, becoming the newest country on the planet. The parliament speaker for the new country recited a formal independence declaration. After independence was declared, the South Sudanese flag was lifted for all to see, with  secretary general Pagan Amum stating: "Today we shall raise the flag of South Sudan to join the nations of the world". 

Thousands of jubilant people celebrated in the new country's capital Juba. They danced in the streets, sang songs and waved flags.  Churches rang their bells at midnight as independence arrived. People crowded to the official ceremonial site, held at the  of  , leader of the rebellion who died several months after the peace deal was signed with Sudan, ending the bloody conflict. Many of the celebrants spoke emotionally of their family members who died in the long struggle with Sudan.

George Garang, an English teacher, said he lost his father, grandfather and eleven brothers. "My whole body feels happy," he said. Valentino Achak Deng, who was a refugee during the war, said: "Really in my heart what makes me happiest is that from today, when people ask me where I am from, I do not have to say Sudan."

 has assumed the role as president of South Sudan. Kiir swore to pledge true alliance and faithfulness to South Sudan. In a speech, Kiir declared amnesty for any who have taken up arms against Sudan.

Kiir insisted that martyrs for the cause of the new country did not die in vain, although South Sudan waited 56 years to be free. The southern Sudanese had agitated for more rights, even before Sudan became free from its British colonizers in 1956. Sudan was divided into three separate demographic groups, with the southern part of the country home to Christians and animists and the northern part dominated by Arab populations and those of Muslim faith. Kiir said to people of , Darfur,  and , who remain part of Sudan, that "we have not forgotten you. When you cry, we cry. When you bleed, we bleed. I pledge to you today that we will find a just peace for all."

Amongst those attending the event were Ban Ki-moon, the current  and , the current president of Sudan. The latter was the guest of honour, despite the fact that the  has a warrant out for his arrest based on offences of  and  in the Darfur region.

"We congratulate our brothers in the south for the establishment of their new state," al-Bashir said at the event. "We share their joy and celebration. The will of the people of the south has to be respected."

Two million individuals died in the  between the two territories of Sudan and Southern Sudan and four million more exiled,  a war that was waged for decades. Control of south Sudan's oil rich reserves was the primary reason for the fighting. An  was signed in  2005, effectively bringing the war to an end, and Sudan became one of the first countries to recognise South Sudan. Under the regulations of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, Sudan held an independence referendum. In excess of 99% of those participating in the vote agreed to the concept of independence for South Sudan. 

Meanwhile, the United Nations plans to make the independent state its 193rd recognised country and its 54th African U.N. member state. United States president Barack Obama formerly recognized the new nation on behalf of the US and acknowledged the enormous struggle of its people to achieve independence.

South Sudan remains a desperately poor country, with one in five of its inhabitants chronically hungry, only one third  having access to safe drinking water and with the world's highest rate of maternal death. The country lacks infrastructure such as roads and railways. It remains  torn by ethnic and tribal rivalries and many problems with the north remain unresolved, including the exact boundary line.  Important revenue for Sudan has come from the rich oilfields of the south, keeping the country afloat and essential now for both economies. A formula remains to be developed on how to split these revenues between the two areas.

U.S. ambassador to the U.N.  said today that the peace process between Sudan and North Sudan could come apart if issues  such as the division of the oil revenues and the border location are not solved soon.