CAIRO - The majority of South Sudanese residing in Cairo have voted for a separation of the Southern part from the homeland the head of the referendum commission in Egypt said on Monday as Egypt announced its 'readiness to help and support' South Sudan state in case of secession. "Some 3,162 (south Sudanese here) voted for a separation compared to 75 only for unity," said Marie Isaac Daniel, the head of the South Sudan Referendum Commission in Cairo. "We sent the result to Khartoum and now we have to wait for the final announcement on February," added Daniel. The referendum is a major item in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005, which ended a two-decade civil war between North and South Sudan that left around two million dead. Incumbent Sudanese' President Omar al-Bashir promised to respect the will of the Southern Sudanese if they opt for separation. However, analysts believe that internal violence would erupt after the referendum due to unresolved issues like oil share and border demarcation. Partial results from the southern regional capital Juba showed a landslide for independence, but the final verdict is not expected before next month after the votes have been collated from across the vast, war-ravaged region. Egypt's Assistant Foreign Minister Mohamed Mursi, meanwhile, said his country's ties with South Sudan would continue even after separation. "Egypt is ready to help support South Sudanese build their nascent country in case they selected separation," Mursi, who manages the Sudanese file in the Foreign Ministry, said. However, he added, the separation of South Sudan would have negative impact on the whole region. "We, in Egypt, have tried our best to keep Sudan united," Mursi told the Upper House of the Parliament. The official added that the negative impacts could extend to the Nile water issue as the directives of the new South Sudan country were still ambiguous.
