SG/SM/10025, AFR/1223

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the tragic death of Dr. John Garang de Mabior, First Vice-President of the Sudan, President of Southern Sudan and Chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). The Secretary-General offers his sincere condolences to the family of Dr. Garang and to the people of the Sudan, who have lost a great son.

Dr. Garang, who led the SPLM/A for more

by Mohammed Ali Saeed
KHARTOUM, Aug 1 (AFP) - Riots erupted in the Sudanese capital Monday after a helicopter crash killed Sudanese vice president and former southern rebel leader John Garang, dealing a blow to a peace deal that ended Africa's longest civil war.

Immediately after the announcement of his death, thousands of people, some wielding knives and guns, took to the streets of Khartoum. An AFP correspondent said several people were lying on the ground, some possibly dead.

Bursts of automatic gunfire could be

NAIROBI, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) on Monday named Salva Kiir to succeed its leader John Garang who died in a helicopter crash.

"The SPLM leadership and the SPLA military command joint meeting ... unanimously affirmed General Salva Kiir Mayardit as the chairman of the SPLM and commander in chief of the SPLA," SPLM's senior official Pagan Amun told reporters.

"Therefore he is the nominee to the position of the 1st vice president of the republic of Sudan and the president of the government of South Sudan."

By Khaled Abdel-Aziz
KHARTOUM, Aug 1 (Reuters) - At least 24 people were killed when thousands of southern Sudanese clashed with police in Khartoum on Monday after the death of former rebel leader John Garang, police officers and witnesses said.

"There are 24 bodies now in the hospital," one officer said at a hospital where bodies were brought in ambulances, public transport vehicles and police cars. Another police officer at the hospital gave the same figure for the number of dead.

A Reuters witness saw at least 12 bodies

Khartoum/Nairobi (dpa) - The Sudanese authorities imposed a dawn till dusk curfew in the wake of massive rioting Monday in the streets of Khartoum following the helicopter-crash death in southern Sudan of Vice President John Garang.
A number of people were killed or wounded in clashes between rioters and security forces in Khartoum, witnesses said.

Garang, 60, led the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement/Army, or SPLM/A, for 21 years before being appointed vice president in early July. The appointment was part of a peace deal

WASHINGTON DC, August 1, 2005 - The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) offers its condolences to the people of Sudan, and to southern Sudanese in particular, in the wake of Vice President John Garang De Mabior's tragic death. We urge the Sudanese government and leadership in the South to stay focused on implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) so that the nearly 500,000 southern Sudanese refugees remaining in neighboring countries can return home. "The best way to honor the memory of John Garang is for the Government of Sudan

Baltimore, August 1, 2005 - In light of today's tragic news about the death of John Garang, the recently sworn-in vice president of the new Sudanese government, Lutheran World Relief (LWR) offers its condolences and affirms its commitment to the people of Sudan, and to working toward a lasting peace in this conflict-torn nation.
Garang, who had been the leader of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement, the rebel movement in Southern Sudan, was a signatory to the Comprehensive Peace Accord that in January ended the 21-year strife between north and south. On July 9, he became the First

Key Developments

The helicopter transporting First Vice-President John Garang from Uganda to New Site in southern Sudan lost contact in the early evening of 30 July. This morning the crash was confirmed and President Bashir announced the death of Garang.

Security Issues

West Darfur

Four armed men broke into the WES office in Geneina on 27 July and stole SD 300,000.

Thirty-five new families have arrived in Nertiti (Jebel Marra) from neighbouring Korgei since the beginning of July. The IDPs, who reportedly fled because of continuous harassment by

I. Affected Population -- trends and analysis
1. The total number of affected populations in Darfur continues to rise with the hunger season nearing its peak, and currently stands at almost 3.4 million people. On 1 August, resident populations constituted almost half of all affected people in Darfur. This steady increase in resident populations is due to four main factors: exhausted coping mechanisms of the local populations, seasonal conditions including drought in some areas, expanded humanitarian access to new areas, and increased operational capacity.