South Sudan celebrates independence

On 9 July 2011, a new flag was raised in the city of Juba as South Sudan became the world's newest nation.

It followed a peace deal that ended a long and bloody civil war in Sudan, which had killed more than two million people.

Six months earlier, a referendum in the south of Sudan saw more than 99% of nearly four million voters choose independence.

Malual Bol Kiir was 17 at the time and had been displaced during the conflict. He tells Daniel Rosney how he was overwhelmed with hope and optimism as change finally came.

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(Photo: Southern Sudanese people waving their flags in Juba. Credit: Roberto Schmidt via Getty Images)