Voting underway on South Sudan independence

People in southern Sudan have been queuing to cast their votes in a week-long referendum on independence that is expected to split Africa's largest nation in two.

South Sudan president Salva Kiir called the vote a "historic moment" as he cast his vote in front of a cheering crowd of hundreds of Sudanese voters.

The oil-rich, mainly Christian south is widely expected to secede from the mainly Muslim north, which has long resisted southern separatist demands. The referendum is part of a 2005 peace deal that ended a two-decade civil war in which over two million died but many details have still to be agreed, including disputed borders.

Voters will can mark one of two choices - a single hand for independence or two clasped hands for unity. The illustrations are necessary because only 15 percent of the region's 8.7 million people can read.

Southerners, who mainly define themselves as African, have long resented their underdevelopment, accusing the northern Arab-dominated government of taking their oil revenues without investing in the south.

After the polls close next Saturday, local polling stations will begin tallying and posting results as more than four thousand local and international observers watch. Final results will not be certified until February.