Last Saturday, the Republic of South Sudan
declared its independence, creating the newest nation in the world --
the 193rd nation to join the United Nations. The new country has been in
the making since a referendum last January, when nearly 4 million
southern Sudanese voted to secede from Sudan by a margin of more than 98
percent. The region has been involved in civil wars for at least the
past 50 years, and the days-old nation is already battling several armed
groups within its new borders. Many issues still remain unresolved --
the oil-rich region continues to rely on pipelines that run through
Sudan, and a revenue-sharing agreement has not been reached. The new
nation, which is comprised of more than 200 ethnic groups, has a largely
rural economy, and poverty, civil warfare, and political instability
will be the biggest of many challenges for the new administration.
Gathered here are scenes from South Sudan as it made its debut on the
world stage this weekend. [35 photos]
A girl from the Dinka Rek sub-tribe poses for a portrait in a remote
cattle camp in Wunlit County, southern Sudan. Few women stay in cattle
camps as the responsibility of grazing and protecting cattle often falls
to young men. The role of cows to pastoral tribes like the Dinka is
paramount. They are used for marriage dowries, currency and serve as the
foundation of social status. The desire to possess large numbers of
cattle for social purposes leads many young men to take part in violent
cattle raiding, during which tribes or sub-tribes use modern weaponry to
steal cows from neighboring communities. The prevalence of large scale
cattle raiding remains of the major security challenges in
newly-independent South Sudan. Photo taken on April 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Pete Muller) # 
A group of internally displaced people from Abyei, huddle round a fire
in a makeshift refugee camp in the village of Mayen Abun, southern Sudan
on Thursday, May 26, 2011. Heavy fighting in neighboring Abyei earlier
this week, had forced some thousands of people to abandon their homes
and flee to Mayen Abun, from heavy fighting between northern and
southern Sudanese forces which erupted earlier. (AP Photo/Pete Muller) #
People gather during independence celebrations in Juba, South Sudan, on
Saturday, July 9, 2011. South Sudan raised the flag of its new nation
for the first time on Saturday, as thousands of South Sudanese citizens
swarmed the capital of Juba to celebrate the country's birth. (AP Photo/David Azia) #
Three young cattle keepers from the Dinka Rek sub-tribe pose for a
portrait in a remote cattle camp in Wunlit County, southern Sudan. This
group of Rek had gathered along the area's only remaining river as the
dry season in southern Sudan pushed into its final weeks. As pastoral
groups consolidate their herds at scarce water points, the frequency of
raiding by other groups increases. In this remote camp, hundreds of
young, armed men stood guard over more than one thousand head of cattle.
The morning after this photo was taken, these and other Rek repelled a
violent raid on their herds by a neighboring sub-tribe. The fighting
left at least three people dead and several more badly wounded. Photo
taken April 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Pete Muller) #
An extended family member of Martha Abiem Deng poses for a portrait in a
makeshift camp in Turalei, southern Sudan on Friday, May 27, 2011. The
family traveled by foot from Abyei to Turalei, a journey that took more
than two full days. The family was taken in by residents of Turalei who
feed them despite extreme food shortages in the town. According to local
officials in Turalei, approximately 80,000 residents of Abyei have
sought refuge in neighboring Twic County, of which Turalei is the
administrative capital. The mass exodus was prompted by a massive
northern Sudanese military offensive on the disputed Abyei. Days of
heavy fighting and bombardment left the northern military in effective
control. (AP Photo/Pete Muller) #
A young cattle keeper from the Dinka Rek sub-tribe poses for a portrait
in a remote cattle camp in Wunlit County, southern Sudan. He holds an
AK-47 assault rifle, a common weapon among young cattle keeping males.
This image was made at the border between southern Sudan's Lakes and
Warrap states where cross-border cattle raiding is extremely common.
Photo taken on April 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Pete Muller) #
Southern Sudanese wave flags and cheer at the Republic of South Sudan's
first national soccer match in the capital of Juba, on Sunday, July 10,
2011. The game, played against Kenya, took place just one day after
South Sudan declared its independence from the north following decades
of costly civil war. (AP Photo/Pete Muller) #
A crowd of spectators erupt cheer as they celebrate their national
soccer squad scoring the first goal of the match against Kenya's soccer
club team Tusker FC at a soccer stadium in South Sudan's capital Juba,
on July 10, 2011. The joy was short lived as the Kenyan squad scored 3
goals and defeated the home team 3-1. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images) #
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