Millions of jubilant south Sudanese started voting on Sunday in an independence referendum expected to see their war-ravaged region emerge as a new nation. People queued for hours in the burning sun outside polling stations in the southern capital Juba, where banners described the week-long ballot as a 'Last March to Freedom' after decades of civil war and perceived repression by north Sudan, reports Reuters. Hours after voting started, the celebratory atmosphere was marred by reports of fresh fighting between Arab nomads and tribespeople associated with the south in the contested Abyei region.