Over 100 dead in Sudan violence

KHARTOUM, Aug 3 (AFP) — Over 100 people have been killed in three days of rioting in the Sudanese capital and a flashpoint southern town, officials said, as deadly violence flared again amid international appeals for calm.

Sudanese soldiers secure Sudan’s capital Khartoum on August 2, 2005, a day after deadly riots broke out in the city . (AFP) .

The rioting pitting southerners against northern Muslisms which has followed the death of ex-southern rebel leader John Garang in a helicopter crash has threatened to plunge Africa’s largest country into fresh turmoil.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed a report that 84 people had been killed in Khartoum since the rioting broke out on Monday.

“The Sudanese Red Crescent shared this report with us which we deem credible,” said ICRC press adviser Larena Brander.

Meanwhile, at least 18 people were killed and hundreds wounded in the main south Sudanese town of Juba, an official from Garang’s former rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army and witnesses said here Wednesday.

“At least 18 people were killed, including children,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that some of the deaths were the result of battles between Sudanese security forces and southern Sudanese angered by Garang’s passing.

Other witnesses recounted a day of clashes in Juba — the south’s largest town where Garang’s funeral is due to be held — saying southern Sudanese burned and looted businesses owned by Arabs considered close to the Muslim government in Khartoum.

Salva Kiir, Garang’s replacement as head of the SPLM/A called for an end to the bloodshed which the international community fears could scupper a landmark January peace deal.

“Enemies of peace may want to take the opportunity of the situation so that they don’t allow the government and the SPLM to implement the peace agreement,” he told reporters.

“We want this situation to be stopped as soon as possible so that security returns to Khartoum and its suburbs,” Kiir said.

He said the rioting in the capital threatened the peace deal signed by southern leader Garang and Khartoum that ended 21 years of north-south civil war, the longest in Africa.

In an another bid to ease the simmering tensions, Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir announced the launch of a committee to probe Garang’s death.

Uganda meanwhile called for an emergency summit of east African leaders to discuss developments in Sudan since the former rebel leader’s death.

Violence continued to flare in Khartoum where several southern Sudanese were killed in retaliatory raids by northern Muslims in the capital.

Several residents told AFP by telephone the deadly clashes had taken place in the southern-majority Khartoum neighbourhood of Hajj Yusef and the situation remained extremely tense.

“One person was shot in the head by soldiers near my house overnight and another three on Monday,” Margaret Deng told AFP, mentioning reports from friends and relatives that many more were killed in other areas.

Deaths were also reported in the southwestern neighbourhood of Kalakla, where southern Sudanese are a minority.

Foreign diplomats hurried to Sudan after Garang’s death, with Kiir meeting Constance Newman, the top US diplomat for Africa, and Roger Winter, Washington’s special envoy for Sudan, while the UN’s top envoy Jan Pronk held talks in Khartoum.

The United States, which invested much political capital into securing the January 9 pact, and others are concerned the agreement may unravel despite vows from both Kiir and Khartoum to uphold the deal.

“I am optimistic because the leadership is there,” Winter said.

The United States and others had been hoping the peace deal that brought the north-south civil war to an end could serve as a template for resolving the crisis in Sudan’s western Darfur region.

In Juba, the capital of autonomous southern Sudan, large numbers of heavily-armed Sudanese troops patrolled as the town prepared for Garang’s funeral Saturday.

“We feel worse now than when the bombs were raining on us,” one resident told AFP, referring to the situation in and around the town during the civil war.

The UN Security Council on Tuesday appealed for restraint and urged all Sudanese to honor Garang’s memory “by restoring peace and calm throughout Sudan.”

The SPLM/A appointed Kiir, Garang’s longtime deputy, to take over his duties as the group’s leader and the posts of first vice president of Sudan and president of an autonomous southern Sudan.

Garang had assumed the latter two positions just three weeks before his death under the terms of the January agreement which calls for southern Sudan to enjoy six years of autonomy under a national unity government in Khartoum, followed by a referendum on secession.