Sudan’s Salva Kiir denies rumors of his killing
September 9, 2007 (KHARTOUM, Sudan) — The president of southern Sudan appeared on state television Sunday to dispel rumors that he was killed in Juba earlier in the day.
Salva Kiir, who is also vice president in the coalition government that rules both northern and southern Sudan, accused those who spread the rumor of being “the real enemies of peace in Sudan.”
“Those who spread this rumor wanted to tell the Sudanese people that I was killed by the partners in the coalition government, in particular, and the northerners in general,” Kiir said from the southern town of Juba.
Rumors circulated in Khartoum Sunday morning alleged that Kiir was killed as his helicopter was shot down by troops of the Sudanese Armed Forces loyal to the Khartoum government.
Kiir complained earlier this year that the peace agreement was not producing the required development and security in southern Sudan, blaming President Omar al-Bashir.
But he appealed to both northern and southern Sudanese on Sunday to ignore rumors meant to create divisiveness between the two groups.
The official news agency SUNA reported that Kiir participated in a religious pray ceremony in Juba, southern Sudan, on Sunday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of people fled the downtown area of Sudan’s capital of Khartoum, fearing a repeat of the violence that followed the death of Kiir’s predecessor, John Garang, in a helicopter crash in July 2005. At least 130 people were killed in protests in Khartoum and southern Sudan at the time.
A 2005 peace deal between Sudan’s Muslim government in the north and the Christian and animist rebels in the south ended a 21-year civil war in the country and led to a power sharing agreement in the national government.
(AP/Xinhua)