Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Tuesday pledged support for a new southern state in his first public address since the south of the country voted overwhelmingly to split from the north. Early results from this month's referendum indicate almost 99 percent of southerners voted to secede after decades of civil war which claimed 2 million lives and destabilized much of east Africa. Bashir had campaigned for unity and many feared the north would not let the oil-producing south go without a fight. "Secession has become a reality -- 99 percent of southerners chose separation but we will not be sad ... we will go to the south and celebrate with them," Bashir told supporters during a visit to the northern River Nile state. "We will support the new southern state and will hold onto its stability because we are neighbors and will remain friends," he added. While oil was a factor behind the north-south war which ended with a wealth and power-sharing agr...
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