A Southern Sudanese boy in the north plays beside shelters in an area called Mandela in Khartoum, Sudan on January 5, 2011. After south Sudan votes to secede from the north on Jan. 9, leaders of both countries must still resolve a daunting range of practical issues if they are to prevent a return to violence. The referendum, guaranteed by a 2005 peace deal between north and south which ended Africa's longest civil war, is forecast to result in secession, but exactly how the two countries will begin to disentangle their economies, resources and people is far from clear.

A Southern Sudanese woman sits next to her belongings as she waits for transport after moving out from Khartoum to Juba on January 5, 2010. Over two million southerners have returned since the 2005 peace agreement, while a new wave -- tens of thousands of families -- are now travelling back from the north. The region that is home to 60 different tribes prepares for a referendum on independence that many believe will split Africas largest country in two.

A man watches a soccer game January 5, 2011 in Juba, Sudan.

A member of a branch of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) plays a trombone in a pro independence march January 5, 2011 in Juba, Sudan.

A police officer walks in a pro independence march on January 5, 2011 in Juba, Sudan.