Hundreds of thousands of people have took to the streets in Juba and the place where the independence ceremony of the world's newest nation, South Sudan, took place.
The flag-raising ceremony of South Sudan will be attended by dignitaries from all around the world, including Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Hours before the formal separation splitting Sudan into two, Sudan President recognised South Sudan as a free and independent nation.
"I would like to stress ...our readiness to work with our southern brothers and help them set up their state so that, God willing, this state will be stable and develop," Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir said.
After a countdown in the city centre reached zero which was followed by new national anthem the South Sudan was born.
People spent the whole night long on the streets dancing, chanting and honking car horns to celebrate the independence of their nation.
South Sudan became the 193rd country recognised by the United Nations and the 54th UN member state in Africa.
On Friday the UN Security Council voted to establish a force of up to 7,000 peacekeepers for South Sudan.
UN Chief Ban Ki-moon said on Friday that South Sudan would soon join the global body.
"South Sudan begins life as a state facing enormous challenges. But South Sudan has remarkable potential with natural resources, huge amounts of arable land and the waters of the White Nile flowing through it," Reuters quoted Ban as saying.
South Sudan's independence follows decades of war with the north in which some 1.5 million people lost their lives.
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