Thousands gathered in Juba to watch a military parade led by many of South Sudan's war heroes, as the people marked their first anniversary of independence from Sudan Monday.

Marching by were men who had fought for years to free the Christian south from the dominance of the Islamic regime in the north.

President Salva Kiir urged the world to help South Sudan build its country.

"My fellow citizens, the year to come will be hard but we will prevail," he said. "In all of this, I ask the international community stay with us. We are a new country and they should not just abandon us because we are independent."

CBN News Sr. International Reporter Gary Lane, who has been to Sudan numerous times, offers more perspective on what's going on in South Sudan, on Christian World News, July 13. Click play for more, following this report.

Meanwhile, ethnic clashes, government corruption scandals involving billions of dollars, and border disputes with the north continue to plague the new nation.

Tens of thousands are internally displaced and the United Nations said the country's humanitarian crisis is reaching a breaking point.

North and South Sudan still have no agreement on the sharing of oil revenues. Most of the oil is located in the south, but it must be transported to market through pipelines in the north.

South Sudan turned off the flow of oil because Sudan was taking too much of the profits.

The World Bank has said unless the oil is turned back on, South Sudan will run out of its fiscal reserves this summer.

That would mean the nation's poverty rate of 50 percent would rise to 80 percent.

Sudan and South Sudan have returned to negotiations, but an agreement on oil and border issues remains unlikely in the near future.