Where God Weeps - the suffering church in focus

South Sudan: The World's Newest Nation

View the country profile of South Sudan.

Breaking News from South Sudan

• 10/05/2012: South Sudan: Bishop Paride Taban calls for an end of the conflicts
• 17/01/2012: Auxiliary Bishop of Khartoum warns of spreading unrest in South Sudan

On July 9th, 2011, South Sudan becomes the world's newest country. Following a landslide referendum vote for secession, where 99 percent of registered voters cast their ballots for independence, South Sudan separated from the Islamic regime of the North.

The new state, with an estimated population of eight million people, has been granted an historic opportunity to put years of conflict behind it. The region has been ravaged by two civil wars since Sudan gained independence from the British crown in 1956. The most important conflict, ending only in 2005 with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement and the Khartoum Government, resulted in the death of 2 million and the displacement of 4 million, mostly civilian, refugees.

The peace, however, is extremely fragile and the road to recovery will be long. In addition to the lack of infrastructure, tribal tensions and food and water security issues, the most significant concern are the oil fields, which lie mainly along the disputed the border territories between North and South. Fighting continues to erupt with bombings and reports of new terror campaigns.