Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president, has said he accepts the results of a referendum that show a landslide vote for independence in the country's south.

Preliminary results indicated 98.83 per cent of voters from the south chose to secede from the north, with final results expected later on Monday.

"Today we received these results and we accept and welcome these results because they represent the will of the southern people," al-Bashir said on state television.

"But we are committed to the links between the north and the south, and we are committed to good relations based on co-operation."

His comments reflect the economic dependence between the two: southern Sudan, which is rich in oil, cannot export its oil resources without using a pipeline that runs through the north.

The January 9-15 vote came six years after north and south Sudan ended a civil war spanning more than two decades, which left at least two million people dead.

It has been seen as the climax of the 2005 peace deal, which set out to reunite the country and instil democracy.

More: [link to english.aljazeera.net]