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WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday welcomed the vote in Sudan on an independence referendum for the south and warned against rhetoric or violence aimed at discouraging people from going to the polls.
"This is an historic step in the years-long process to fully implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the civil war between north and south," Obama said in a statement.
Sunday marked the first day of voting in a week-long ballot that could cut Africa's biggest country in two and deprive the north of most of its lucrative oil.
"We know that there are those who may try to disrupt the voting," Obama said. "All sides should refrain from inflammatory rhetoric or provocative actions that could raise tensions or prevent voters from expressing their will."
Obama said the world was united in a determination to make sure that all parties live up to their obligations.
"The world will be watching in the coming days, and the United States will remain fully committed to helping the parties solve critical post-referendum issues regardless of the outcome of the vote," he said. (Writing by Caren Bohan; Editing by Eric Beech and Jackie Frank)
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