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9 January 2011
Last updated at
16:15
In pictures: Southern Sudan referendum
There is a carnival atmosphere in Southern Sudan on the first day of a referendum on whether to secede from the north.
People have been singing and dancing outside some polling stations with a vote in favour of dividing Africa's biggest country in two seen as a foregone conclusion.
Some people queued up overnight even though the voting lasts for seven days.
The referendum was part of a 2005 peace deal to end two decades of conflict between the mainly Arabic-speaking, Muslim north and the south, where most people are Christian or follow traditional religions.
Former rebel commander Salva Kiir is set to be the first leader of the new country, which is set to come into being in July. He was the first to vote in the southern capital, Juba.
There have been widespread fears of violence around the poll with some southerners saying the north would never let their oil-rich region leave but, so far, voting has been largely peaceful.
Southern Sudan is one of the world's poorest regions and the vast majority of people cannot read and write, so ballot papers have the symbol of clasped hands to denote unity and an open hand for secession.
After they have voted, people's forefingers are dipped in indelible ink to prevent them from casting a second ballot.
This woman's finger tips are already covered in henna, so the election official used the ink between her fingers.
Hundreds of thousands of southerners fled the war to live in the north but many have returned ahead of the referendum and polling stations in Khartoum were much less busy than in the south.
These southerners voted in Darfur. Some hope, while others fear, that seccession for the south could encourage rebels in Darfur to seek their region's independence.
Many southerners also fled to neighbouring countries such as Kenya, where voting is also taking place. In Nairobi people pushed and shoved to get into this polling station.
Southern Sudanese have also made it to Israel. Although there was no voting there, a rally was held in Tel Aviv to support southern independence.
This group of southerners returned from Uganda on polling day and celebrated as they arrived back in their homeland.
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