The final vote tally won't be announced until next month, but preliminary results from Sudan's referendum show the African country will likely be split in two, creating a new independent nation.

The vote is part of a peace deal that ended a civil war between the Arab north and the Christian south. If the south secedes, one of the challenges will be  figuring out the status of the disputed oil-rich area called Abyei, which is claimed by both sides. The BBC's James Copnall reports.