Friday, August 05, 2005

UN reform: AU summit setback for German UN seat bid

Excerpt from DPA report via Expatica in Germany on African Union (AU) summit outcome relating to important UN members' meeting September 2005 on Reform at the UN:
Current A.U. chairman and Nigerian President Olusengu Obasanjo insisted on a "synchronizing" of the African stand with that of other regions of the world.

The delegations from Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Ethiopia supported Obasanjo, saying the African Group at the U.N. needed to negotiate with other groups to win support.

Delegations who took the opposite view included those from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Senegal, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda, sources said.

Other groups presenting proposals on Security Council enlargement include the Group of Four (Brazil, Germany, India and Japan) and the Consensus Group of 12 states (which include Argentina, Canada, Italy, South Korea and Turkey).
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Uganda president says Garang crash may not be accident

This AFP report, if true, makes Uganda's president appear cowardly and irresponsible - publicly making such speculations (to cover his own hide I guess - it was his helicoper) at such a sensitive time and before the official investigations have reached any conclusions:

Friday 5 August 2005 YEI, Sudan, Aug 5 (AFP) - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Friday that the helicopter crash that killed Sudanese vice president and ex-rebel leader John Garang may not have been an accident, contrary to official explanations.

"Some people say accident, it may be an accident, it may be something else," Museveni said, suggesting for the first time the July 31 crash of his presidential chopper in which Garang was riding may have been the result of foul play.

"I am looking (at) all options," he told a crowd of thousands of mourning southern Sudanese in the town of Yei where Garang's body was brought as part of a funeral procession before his Saturday burial in the town of Juba.

[Note, The Sudanese government and Garang's rebel movement SPLM say the helicopter crash was an accident but an investigation is planned by all concerned, including the U.N. Some possible reasons for the crash are listed in a report posted here below, yesterday]
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Sudan's SPLM releases names of officers killed with Garang

See details at SudanTribune Aug 5, 2005.

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Thursday, August 04, 2005

Sudan: UN mission reports calm in Khartoum, south, ahead of Garang's funeral

Thu 4 Aug UN News Centre - The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today reported calm in the capital, Khartoum, and in the south following three days of unrest sparked by the death in helicopter crash last Saturday of first Vice-President and former southern rebel leader John Garang.

See report "Garang begins journey to final resting place."

Catholic priests

Photo: Catholic priests and nuns arrive for a religious ceremony for late John Garang in New Site village in Southern Sudan August 2, 2005. (Reuters).
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Sudanese president endorses new SPLM leader

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir Thursday issued a decree endorsing the new leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, his partner in the national unity government, paving the way for Salva Kiir Mayardit to take over as first vice-president.

Alex de Waal on John Garang: Death of an Enigma

Please see "Death of an Enigma" in The Wall Street Journal Aug 4, 2005. It is an excellent article by Alex de Waal and explains why the U.S. deserves more credit for the north-south peace agreement.

Note this excerpt from the article that educates readers far more about John Garang than any other news report I have seen circulating at the moment:

Mr. Garang was an enigma. He didn't reflect the aspirations of most Southern Sudanese to separate from Northern Sudan, arguing instead that the South would get a better deal as part of an "African" majority that could control the whole of Sudan. Nor did he build a democratic movement or a civil administration for the areas he controlled. But his dogged resistance won him respect; he ultimately became the pivotal figure in Sudan's politics, and was sworn in as vice president just three weeks before his death. Not just Southerners, but people from Darfur and eastern Sudan, and the downtrodden of Khartoum itself, saw him as proof that things were at long last changing.

The SPLA leader was a reluctant convert to peacemaker. During three years of painstaking negotiations, he kept the military option in reserve. Until the very last hour, his profound distrust of Khartoum, with its history of broken promises and serial atrocity, made him hesitate to sign. The final agreement is defensive: It keeps the SPLA as a separate army, controlling Southern Sudan, for a six-year interim period.

It is a remarkably good deal, and it came about in a remarkable way. The driving force has been exhaustion with an unwinnable war, along with Khartoum's recognition that Mr. Garang was the best chance for unity. But the Bush administration deserves credit. It is an example of what can be achieved by pursuing a simple aim - peace - with persistence and international cooperation. No other African issue has commanded such attention from the administration.

And it has worked, in an unusual way. A Kenyan general, representing a bloc of north-east African countries, led the mediation. The British organized an advisory group of former African guerrillas to help SPLA commanders think through the transition from insurgents to members of a national army, serving alongside former enemies. The Swiss stepped in to help negotiate a truce in the Nuba Mountains, which was then monitored by Norwegians. The World Bank provided technical skills on how to share Sudan's oil revenue. It's ad hoc multilateralism.

The Bush administration has rightly resisted the siren calls for regime change, knowing that the alternatives would likely be no better, and that chaos would be worse. They have been building the ladders, not feeding the snakes. Activists criticize the ethics of dealing with a brutal government. They have kept Sudan in the spotlight. But it is patience and compromise - the needlework of diplomacy - that will deliver peace.

Click here to read the full article courtesy Sudan Tribune.

Mr. de Waal, a fellow at the Global Equity Initiative, at Harvard, is the author, with Julie Flint, of "Darfur: A Short History of a Long War," forthcoming in September from Zed Press.
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John Garang: Charismatic Sudanese Vice-President

Excerpt from an tribute to John Garang by Gill Lusk in the Independent Aug 3, 2005:
"Doctor John" was not always seen as a beacon of democratic or peaceful hopes. He had set up the SPLA in 1983, when he was sent to the south to help to quell discontent among southern troops, who were angry that the then President, Jaafar Nimeiri, was dividing the south into three regions, a move rightly perceived as "dividing to rule". Garang never came back, joining and then taking over the rebellion. He held his position as leader with a capacity for decisiveness that his rivals often lacked. Many southerners died, disappeared or were detained in harsh conditions. Some SPLA commanders visited great suffering on civilians, especially those not from Garang's Dinka people. This has not been forgotten and even the legendary southern gift for reconciliation has not healed all wounds.
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Garang's death - Uganda under fire for failing to follow aviation guidelines

Some possible reasons for the helicopter crash that killed John Garang and fellow passengers are explained in a report excerpt via BBC Monitoring Service and Sudan Tribune:
One, the critics are saying the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) defied the rule that bars the helicopters of that category from flying out of the airport beyond 5.00 p.m. That Garang's helicopter is not supposed to fly at night, but CAA let it go. So that is one of the criticisms.

And then another one is civil aviation - the rule here is that if a VIP of Garang's calibre is supposed to leave the international airport, Entebbe International Airport, the CAA is supposed to carry out a weather study three hours before the flight starts, and this was not done.

And then the third one is this aircraft was serviced recently and this is the longest flight it made and the critics are saying that this aircraft should not have gone on a long distance flight because it has just come out of service and it needed to be tested for quite some time before it take such a long journey.
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Uganda postpones national mourning for Garang

Thu Aug 4 - Local press report in Uganda said on Thursday that the Sudanese government is holding bodies of the seven Ugandans who died in the helicopter crash near the Uganda-Sudan border.

'The Sudanese government has decided that the bodies should not be released until investigations into the cause of the crash are completed,' the report said.
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Norway to send UN force to Sudan as planned

Aug 4 report by Rolleiv Solholm The Norway Post:
The major part of the Norwegian contribution to the newly formed UN force in Sudan is already in place, or about to leave Norway.

Norway's contingent is made up mainly of observers, staff officers and medical personnel.

Communication director Erling Boe at the Joint Operative Headquarters near Stavanger says to Stavanger Aftenblad that the Norwegian contingent at present will number 25 persons.

- The Norwegian medical team, numbering nine, are already in place and working in the field, Boe says.
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Ex-president Clinton calls for US pressure on Sudan

You have to wonder if ex-President Bill Clinton is out of the loop or simply courting publicity for himself by saying on Wednesday that the U.S. should increase diplomatic pressure on Sudan to allow more foreign peacekeeping troops.

A report today by Reuters.co.za says during an appearance at a convention of African-American journalists in Atlanta, Mr Clinton said, "What we should do is try to go to the U.N. and put some more heat on the Sudanese government. We need more troops there."

Excerpt from the report:
Sudan agreed earlier this year to accept about 10,000 peacekeeping troops as part of the peace agreement in South Sudan - most of those troops will come from China, Egypt, Kenya, India, Bangladesh and a handful of other non-Western nations.

Clinton, who recently visited Africa, said additional peacekeeping troops should not come from the United States or other Western nations but from nations "less controversial" to the government in Khartoum.
If you scroll through the archives here at Sudan Watch you will find links to many news reports on the difficulties UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had in getting contributions of peacekeepers for South Sudan. Who is to pay the millions of dollars it would cost to have, as Mr Clinton seems to be suggesting, more than 13,000 troops in the Sudan, and for how long? It took a few years for everyone involved in the north-south peace deal to get to the point of 10,000 peacekeepers being agreed and funded for Southern Sudan. I've yet to see a report that says the UN has managed to get 10,000 peacekeepers. Last I saw, it was nowhere near that number. And the peacekeepers that are in South Sudan now, you don't see much of in the news [I wonder why].

Mr Clinton would have done better to discuss with the journalists why the African Union have been so slow in getting their troops to Darfur (it looks like African politics are winning out or nobody else wants to get involved) and why their mandate in Darfur has not been expanded (again it looks like African politics winning out - Khartoum rejects an expanded mandate saying it would be seen as an occupying force) -- and who is funding and supporting the Darfur rebel groups SLA and JEM - and other rebel groups in the Sudan (none of the rebels seem to be gainfully employed but have plenty of arms, trucks, satellite phones while their leaders travel all over the world); and it would have been useful to know why African governments, such as the one in Niger, are not doing everything they can to feed their starving people and protect them.
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Soldiers secure Khartoum

Photo: Sudanese soldiers secure Sudan's capital Khartoum on August 2, 2005, a day after deadly riots broke out in the city. (AFP)
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Peace in Sudan can be consummated without John Garang

Finally, here is the concluding paragraph of Alex de Waal's great report (see above):
"... But Mr. Garang's wisdom in examining every line in the hundreds of pages of detailed agreement is now his greatest legacy. Peace, institutionalized, can be consummated without him. The SPLA has already achieved a seamless leadership transition. The agreement and the new constitution are clear: Salva Kiir is the next vice president, and the Government of National Unity should be formed next week. The mourning period notwithstanding, these steps must proceed. Mr. Kiir should fly to Khartoum, be sworn in, and approve the list of candidates for governorships and ministerial portfolios. Along with condolences, President Bush has sent the right message to Sudan: no change in U.S. policy.
Soccer Balls

Photo by by SSgt Bradley C. Church

Senior Airman Mike Meares, of the 86th Air Expeditionary Group public affairs office, shows a local child his photo on the back of his digital camera July 28. The group donated soccer balls, soccer nets, candy and toys to the children attending the Nonko Primary School of Kigali-Kanombe, Rwanda. The United States provided transportation for 1,200 Rwandan forces to and back from Sudan in support of AMIS 2, the African Union Mission in Sudan.

Full Story at Hilltop Times "Airmen donate soccer balls, supplies to African children" Thursday August 4, 2005.

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Wednesday, August 03, 2005

BBC round-up of African media on Garang

Click here to read the BBC's interesting round-up of what TV and newspapers in Africa and Egypt are saying about the implications of John Garang's death.

Here below are the bits I like the best, except for South Africa's Star (I never really felt that Garang was against the south's right to break away from Sudan in six years time - I got the feeling, and I may be wrong of course, that he aimed to take control of the whole of Sudan through a violent revolution and settled for South Sudan as a start, to appease the West and attract funding and oil deals) - and, the commentary in Uganda's Daily Monitor went right over the top by saying of Garang, "It will be said of him that he did better than Biblical Moses."

[By the way, I find it incredible that Garang is being immortalised as a peacemaker. He was responsible for waging a 20-year long war that cost the lives of two million Sudanese people and unimagineable misery for millions of others. I believe the United States and the Bush administration deserve so much more credit than what Garang is being given. The north-south peace deal would never have happened without the years of hard work by the U.S. Government, not to mention the billions of dollars in aid, humanitarian relief, funding and support paid for from the sweat of the brow of decent, hardworking, law abiding American taxpayers.]

Sudanese TV - Sudan's handling of the death of one of this showcase's key architects will not only be a test for the country but a test for the spirit of optimism in Africa.

Kenya's Nation - We would like to urge the Sudanese people not to let grief over a peacemaker be used as an excuse to re-ignite war in Africa's biggest country ... We are, however, encouraged by the SPLM leadership that has moved swiftly to fill the leadership void created by the death of Col Garang ... We would like to caution the several parties in Sudan against capitalising on the grieving Sudanese to whip up emotions for their own ends.

South Africa's Star - A big threat to Garang's dream of a united Sudan is Kiir Mayardit's insistence on the south's right to secede after the six-year transition.

Egypt's Al-Ahram - There is no other alternative for the Sudanese people other than to join hands and go forward with the peace process to achieve peace and stability and development for Sudan. Sudan is facing great challenges facing... What Garang's wife said on the need to continue with the peace process is the best response to those seeking to incite the situation again. Sudan cannot stand fresh conflicts or tragedies.
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Snippets from bloggers

Snippet from "Death of Sudanese First Vice President Dr. John Garang" at Republican National Convention Blog NYC 2004 blog USA:

"[U.S.] President's Statement on Death of Sudanese First Vice President Dr. John Garang de Mabior:

I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Sudanese First Vice President Dr. John Garang de Mabior. He was a visionary leader and peacemaker who helped bring about the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which is a beacon of hope for all Sudanese. The United States is determined to maintain our commitment to the peace process in Sudan. We urge all Sudanese people to refrain from resorting to violence and to continue the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. John Garang's vision of peace must be embraced by all the people in Sudan so that they can live in a democratic, peaceful, and united country. On behalf of the people of the United States, Laura and I extend our deepest sympathies to Dr. Garang's wife, Rebecca, his family, and to all the people of Sudan."
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Snippet from "A Spate of Deaths" at Betamax Guillotine blog USA:

"Garang led the SPLA, at one time the preeminent resistance movement in the south, for 21 years avoiding assassination attempts and coup attempts and running the SPLA with an iron hand. Garang was the last of the American-educated and/or trained rebel leaders alive and out of power in Africa. The sole remaining former rebel leader, now President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, was the first leader in contemporary history to actually succeed. The other notable American-backed rebel leader in one of Africa's longest running civil wars, Angola's Jonas Savimbi, was finally cornered and killed by the Angolan army in 2002."
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Snippet from "Garang's death leads to rioting in Khartoum" at Towards a Free World blog:

"The Sudanese government released a statement yesterday, to try to reduce the tension, which announced that Garang was not dead, merely lost during a storm. When earlier today, this was found not to be true the tensions boiled over into anarchy. Southern Sudanese began gathering in groups and rioting throughout Khartoum. They attacked police stations and beat up Arabic Sudanese. Garang's party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, have been calling for calm and promising to find out what has happened and if there was any foul play. This has not so far stopped the rioters, who burned and smashed public and private property, leading to the imposition of a curfew by the Government."
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Snippet from "My two cents on Garang" at ConservaGlobe blog USA:

"I really don't blame them for thinking that al-Bashir had Garang executed, that would have been a distinct possibility if this had happened before the peace agreement. Whether Garang was murdered or not is immaterial, what matters is that he is now seen as a martyr for the cause of Southern Sudan. If anyone wanted to destabilize the fragile peace, they have almost certainly succeeded."

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Britain warns against travel to Sudan amid unrest

AlertNet by Reuters:

Britain warned its nationals on Wednesday against all but essential travel to Sudan amid continuing violence after the death of former southern rebel leader John Garang.

"We advise against all but essential travel to Sudan until further notice ... the situation in Khartoum and South Sudan is very tense," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Britain also warned that banditry was widespread in the western Darfur region and advised travellers to be very cautious at night and when going outside major population centres.

It also advised against all travel to the Eritrean border.

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Juba, Sudan: Arabs flee southern town after riots on Garang's death - 18 killed

Wed Aug 3 Associated Press report says 18 killed in Juba. This excerpt from another report explains what is happening in Juba, a town in South Sudan that is key in the north-south peace agreement:

Heavy police and army patrols circulated in the otherwise empty dirt roads of Juba on Wednesday. Shops and an outdoor market were burned to the ground, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

In Juba, 1,200 kilometers south of the capital, angry southerners attacked Arab-owned shops and homes Monday and Tuesday, chasing northerners through the streets and killing northerners, witnesses said.

Juba, a main front in the long civil war, is a garrison town for the northern Sudanese military. But it appeared the military and police held back from stopping rioters for fear of inflaming tensions with southerners in the town.

Juba is the biggest town in the south with a population of some 350,000, most of them southerners - who are ethnic Africans, mainly Christians and animists. The town is surrounded by SPLM forces and is supplied from the north by air.

But the Arab Muslim minority holds most of the main businesses. Many of them were now fleeing. At Juba's airport, dozens of Arabs - mostly men - were lined up with baggage for flights back to Khartoum. Women and families appeared to have already left.

Juba is key in the north-south peace agreement. The town is due to become the capital of the autonomous southern region. The central government is supposed to reduce its military presence and allow the SPLM's fighters to enter as a force parallel to the military.

Office of the SPLM

Photo: The office of the Sudan People's Liberation mmovement (SPLM) stand destroyed and deserted after a counter-attack by angry northerners at Haj Yousif town in Khartoum, Wed, Aug 3, 2005. following the death of SPLM leader and vice president John Garang who was killed in a weekend helicopter crash in southern Sudan. Clashes erupted Monday in Khartoum, when angry SPLA supporters reacted to the news of Garang's death by smashing and burning vehicles and looting stores. Some blamed the government for Garang's death. (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)
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Via ReliefWeb: All Medair national and international staff are currently understood to be safe and accounted for.
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I spy with my little eye a UN peacekeeper or what?

UN peacekeeper?

Photo Wed Aug 3: Arab-owned shops and businesses displaying evidence of the violence on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005 that broke out in Sudan's southern city of Juba following the death of John Garang. African residents attacked shops and businesses owned by Arabs from the north for two days running in Juba following Monday's announcement that Garang was killed in a helicopter crash near the border with neighboring Uganda. Garang will be buried in Juba on Saturday. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)

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Sudan: Report From International Committee of the Red Cross

Wed Aug 3 2005 Press Release by the International Committee of the Red Cross. A few snippets:

Violence threatens to spiral

On 3 August, 84 bodies were reportedly lying in the city mortuary next to Khartoum hospital while news of further casualties continued to come in. With rumours fuelling the mounting tension, the local media had little reliable information to provide.

The ICRC is currently supporting the emergency response efforts of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) through the latter's Khartoum branch. The ICRC has so far provided two ambulances with drivers as well as fuel, stretchers and dressing kits for the treatment and evacuation of injured people to hospitals and other medical facilities. On the first day alone, the SRCS evacuated some 40 dead and 200 wounded, while the ICRC medical team based at the Juba Teaching Hospital treated upwards of 30 severely wounded people. The ICRC is now assessing the situation and remains ready to provide further assistance. So far, the violence has not had any major effects in the eastern and western parts of the country.

Sudan remains the ICRC's largest operation worldwide. Currently there are some 2,000 national staff and 200 expatriates working for the ICRC throughout Sudan, roughly half of whom are based in Darfur.

Sudan's reprisal attacks worsen - 800 wounded - 71 killed

Wed Aug 3 report by the BBC World Africa says riots continue in Khartoum, despite a curfew, with Arab and southern Sudanese gangs launching a series of retaliatory attacks.

The report says more than 800 people have been wounded and 71 killed in the violence which erupted after ex-rebel southern leader John Garang died in a helicopter crash on Saturday. Most casualties are southern Sudanese and the large military presence is struggling to contain the violence.
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Salva Kiir meets U.S. envoys, seeks Darfur peace

Wed Aug 3 report from Reuters in New Site, Sudan confirms Salava Kiir, the new leader of southern Sudan, met with top U.S. and South African envoys today (Wed) as part of diplomatic moves to maintain the fragile peace accord in Africa's largest country.
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U.S. envoys by Garang's coffin

US envoys by Garang's coffin

Photo Aug 3: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Connie Newman (L) and the U.S. special envoy to Sudan Roger Winter (R) pay their respects in front of the coffin of John Garang in New Site village in southern Sudan August 3, 2005. The new leader of Sudan People's Liberation Movement, Salva Kiir met with top U.S. and South African envoys on Wednesday as part of a diplomatic push to maintain the fragile peace accord in Africa's largest country. REUTERS/Stringer
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People flee central Khartoum, violence reported

Wed Aug 3 report by Reuters says people fled central Khartoum in cars today while troops and riot police headed towards the city centre, where residents reported fresh violence, witnesses and journalists said.

The reported violence followed rumours that a southern Sudanese militia leader had been killed. But the militia itself, the South Sudanese Defence Forces, and a Foreign Ministry official denied the rumours.

Sudanese forces in Khartoum

Wed Aug 3 - A local resident walks by soldiers manning a machine gun on a pick-up in the street of Khartoum, after riots continued Tuesday to rock the Khartoum neighbourhood where Sudanese First Vice President John Garang used to live. (AFP/Khaled Desouki)

Soldiers on foot in Khartoum

Wed Aug 3 - Sudanese soldiers on foot and in a pick-up are on patrol in the street of Khartoum, after the riots. (AFP/Khaled Deosouki)

Wed Aug 3 AFP report says from his southern Sudanese base of New Site, where mourners were paying their last respects to Garang, the late leader's successor Salva Kiir urged all parties to refrain from resorting to violence.

The violence is "regrettable and we have been openly talking to the media, the Sudanese media especially, trying to calm down the people in Khartoum both southerners and northerners," Kiir said.

"We want to stop it, that's why we are appealing to all the Sudanese people to refrain from any hostility."

[It is interesting to note the riots appear to be taking place in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. John Garang only set foot there for the first time in something like 20 years, just a few weeks or so ago. So, AFP is stretching it a bit to refer to the area where the riots have taken place as his old neighbourhood.

Also, no photos have yet emerged of any UN peacekeepers on the scene anywhere. There are masses of them in South Sudan but, as yet, none have been photographed there either. Rebels do not wear uniforms. Who knows if these riots are being instigated by rebels connected with central or eastern Sudan groups. Any old excuse for a fight. Someone should employ these guys to do a hard day's work for a good day's pay to put food on the table. Too many have too much time on their hands to fight and kill and cause trouble. Who is supporting them? How are they buying arms, ammunition, petrol and other supplies - not to mention mobile phone costs - to keep going for so many months and years?]
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Security council calls for calm in Sudan in the wake of Garang's death

On the riots continuing in Khartoum, Captain Marlow blogs this:
As usual, a very strong statement from the UN will ensure peace:

On Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council urged calm.
Heh.
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Sudan announces probe into Garang's death

Wed Aug 3 AFP report says Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir announced Wednesday the launch of a committee to probe the death of John Garang.

Beshir spoke of "the formation of a national commission with the cooperation of the SPLM to investigate and establish the facts about the helicopter crash that cost John Garang his life," in a speech broadcast on public television.

Garang, leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), was killed in helicopter crash on Saturday that many of his supporters say was not an accident.

Garang and al-Beshir

Photo: Former sworn enemies First Vice President John Garang (L) and Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, in Khartoum, 17 July 2005. (AFP)

[It's hard to imagine what they could be laughing about on camera. Their war against each other cost 2 million Sudanese lives and untold misery. I've said this many times before here at Sudan Watch: it is within the gift of the Khartoum regime to peacably bring law, order and prosperity to Sudan or ask for help to secure law and order. It is not up to the West to tell Sudan how to live - or keep feeding it and its neighbours ad infinitum. Peace cannot be enforced externally. Even the late great Mahatma Gandhi said of Africa something along the lines that its problems can only be resolved within, by its own people.]

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Sudan: Violence in Darfur still prevalent - MSF

Aug 3 report at IRIN says violence against civilians in Darfur remains a serious problem, Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), said on Wednesday. Excerpt:

"Our teams are still witnessing repeated violence against the population," Rowan Gillies, president of MSF-international, said in a statement.

"We are deeply concerned about this and its consequences for our patients and their families," he added.

Without saying who was responsible for the violence, MSF said in the last three weeks alone, it had treated 52 people for violence-related injuries.

From January to May 2005, MSF teams treated more than 500 people for violence-related injuries and 278 women for rape.

On 24 July, in Shangil Tobaya, North Darfur State, MSF said it had witnessed an attack on an internally displaced persons' (IDPs) camp next to the organisation's clinic.

Grenades were used in the attack, and shelters in the camp were burnt down, forcing hundreds of IDPs to once again flee for their lives. MSF said it had treated 14 people - including four children - for bullet and shrapnel wounds.

On 9 June, the agency said it had examined and treated 15 women who had been attacked the previous day in Korma, North Darfur. It found that five of them had been raped, one of whom was aged just 15, while another was three-months pregnant.

"Rape has remained a prevalent problem for the women of Darfur," James Lorenz, MSF communications officer in Nairobi, Kenya, told IRIN.

Between October 2004 and February 2005, MSF reported that it had treated more than 500 rape victims in South and West Darfur states.

SLA rebels in S Darfur

Photo: Sudan Liberation Army rebels in the Jebel Marra mountain area, South Darfur State. (c) IRIN

The war in Darfur pits Sudanese government troops and militias - allegedly allied to the government - against rebels, mainly from the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, who are fighting to end what they say is the marginalisation of and discrimination against the region's inhabitants by the state.

The UN estimates that since the start of the conflict in February 2003, over a third of the total population - more than 2.5 million people, including nearly 1.9 million IPDs - have been affected.

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Salva Kiir - South Sudan succession prompts White Nile uncertainty

Re the latest on White Nile [a fledgling UK oil company trying to do big oil deals in South Sudan] here is an excerpt from a Dow Jones report by Simeon Kerr and Benoit Faucon Aug 1 via sudaneseonline.com:
Earlier Monday, Kiir [Garang's successor] said in a statement that the former rebel army is committed to the pursuit of the peace process, ordering former members of the SPLM leadership to assemble at an emergency meeting in Garang's personal base near the border with Kenya.

A U.K.-based SPLM member, who declined to be named, agreed that Garang's aspirations for peace in the Sudan "will be carried out."

Garang never made public his opinion about the controversial deal with White Nile, but his senior lieutenants have publicly backed the venture.

Kiir, a senior military commander when the southern rebellion erupted against Khartoum in 1983, is close to White Nile founder Andrew Groves.

"He's 100% behind the deal," Groves told Dow Jones Newswires.

The next two senior officials, Riak Machar and James Wani Igga, have also backed the deal.
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UK news on White Nile

'Business as usual' for White Nile, despite loss of Garang - Guardian Unlimited

Death of rebel leader 'won't put White Nile deal at risk' - Times Online

Sudanese death will not affect oil deal, says White Nile - Telegraph.co.uk
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Oil in Darfur and Sudan's Block C

If any reader here at Sudan Watch has snippets of news relating to what is happening these days with oil companies in Sudan and if there is news of any conflict in or around Block C, please email for future pieces on oil and Darfur.
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Thank You Notes

Firstly, to Bill at Jewels in the Jungle for his great post and kind comment here yesterday - sorry for delay in replying.

And to Kendall at Titusonenine for "Keeping up With and Praying for the Sudan". It created a spike in traffic at Sudan Watch.

Titusonenine sure gets a lot of visitors. Thousands a day. Thanks Kendall.

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Tuesday, August 02, 2005

John Garang In Memoriam - Experts say Salva Kiir can unify South Sudan

- AU chief expresses shock over death of Garang
- Ethiopia laments death of Sudan's First Vice President Garang
- Eritrean president mourns death of Garang
- East Africa mourns Garang, fears unravelling peace

Please read "In memoriam John Garang" by Jim Moore at Passion of the Present.

Refugees in S. Sudan reading news

Photo: Refugees from southern Sudan read the Daily Nation newspapers in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to catch up with the lastest news following the 01 August death of ex-Sudanese rebel leader John Garang.

Garang is to be buried Saturday 6 August in Juba, the town he selected as the capital of an autonomous southern Sudan, his Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army said. (AFP/Simon Maina)
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UN offers help over Garang death

Here is an except from News.com.au by correspondents in Cairo Aug 3 - via Reuters:
The United Nations has offered to help investigate the cause of the helicopter crash which killed former southern Sudanese rebel leader and First Vice President John Garang, Sudan's top UN envoy, Jan Pronk, said today.

Jan Pronk said Mr Garang's death, announced yesterday, was a setback to a peace deal that ended Africa's longest civil war, but the speedy transition of power was a positive sign that the former rebel group could stay united without Mr Garang.

"There will be an investigation ... we have offered our assistance so that may result in a joint investigation," Mr Pronk said by telephone from Khartoum.

"Uganda, the SPLM, the government, the UN, we need to group all our expertise ... it is necessary in order to take away all suspicion if there are suspicions," he said.

There has been no suggestion of foul play.

News of John Garang's death prompted thousands of southern Sudanese resident in Khartoum to riot, loot and burn in violence not seen in the capital for years. Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 hospitalised yesterday's [Tuesday's] clashes.

Mr Pronk said the violence was an expression of rage and frustration by people whose hopes were raised by Mr Garang's return to Khartoum to join the new power-sharing government after more than two decades in exile.

"They are angry and frustrated and that leads to violence ... it is not political or sectarian, it's a riot," Mr Pronk said.

"It will perhaps take a few days but then it will be over."
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Riots in Sudan after Garang's death

Khartoum police

Photo: Police stand next to a burning car in Khartoum, Sudan Monday Aug. 1, 2005. (AP).

Trey Jackson blogs a video and news of the riots - via Instapundit with thanks.

Sudanese soldiers in Khartoum

Photo: Sudanese soldiers stand guard in Khartoum, a day after deadly riots broke out in the city, following the announce of the death of John Garang. (AFP/Salah Omar)
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Experts say new SPLM leader can unify south

If I could spend more time on posts today, I would like to have put together some original commentary on the conflicting reports I have been reading re the new SPLM leader, Salva Kiir. Here is an excerpt from a report by William Maclean for Reuters Aug 2 via Sudan Tribune:
Along with many in the SPLM, Kiir privately takes a tougher line than Garang took on southern self-determination, experts say, although publicly he has supported Garang's opinion that it would be preferable for Sudan to remain one country.

Under the peace accords, southerners have the right to vote for secession at the end of a six-year interim period, a concession granted by the Islamist government in response to the rebels' core demand for the right of self-determination.

Experts say anecdotal evidence shows that southerners would vote en masse for secession if the vote were taken today.

"Garang was the best hope for the unity option, so with his death a unity vote is now perhaps less likely," said Horn of Africa expert Alex de Waal.
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Garang to Sack Salva Kiir as Commander-in-Chief

Browsing the Internet today, I came across the following piece published at sudanvisiondaily.com by "admin". Although I cannot be sure of the source, I thought it was worth logging various points of view. Note the piece was published online July 8, 2005:

In a move seen as ending cooperation between SPLM/A leader Dr. John Garang and his deputy Salva Kiir Mayardit, a source close to the SPLM/A leader disclosed that the latter will issue a decision appointing Mujakim Akot as Commander-in-Chief of SPLM/A forces to replace Salva Kiir.

The source said the relationship between Garang his deputy has been strained to the point of the two no longer having confidence in one another. According to the source, the expected decision is believed to arouse a row, referring to SPLM/A's promise to assign the position of Commander-in-Chief to Wyai Deng Ajuk, adding that SPLM/A rejected his appointment because he belongs to Shilluk.

In another development, Darfur rebels have admitted receipt of a craft-load of arms sent by SPLM/A in support of their movement in Jebel Marrah. A member of the Darfur rebels delegation that arrived in Cairo, Tuesday, confirmed to SMC their receipt of that support but added that a number of their political leaders rejected dealing with SPLM/A.

"SPLM is running after passing its own agenda through the Darfur Movement, and that is rejected by some within the ranks of the movement," said that member, describing SPLM/A objectives and political line as flabby, dismissing as irrelevant any future alliance with it.

Meanwhile, SPLM/A has agreed in principle on the Mandela Charity Centre initiative aimed at pushing the momentum of South-South dialogue.

A source on the Coordinating Council for Southern Sudan (CCSS) said the Council proposed an initiative calling for convening the South-South Dialogue Conference, to be attended by southern sectors and parties, at both home and abroad to bring the various viewpoints closer, and to come up with a vision to maintain the forthcoming peace.

The source added that the initiative will be patronized by CCSS Chairman, Riak Gai, and the Minister of Electricity, Ali Tamim Fartak. The source told SMC that the Committee would hold meetings in Nairobi on July 15, that will last for 5 days to discuss the unified agenda that will be submitted to SPLM/A. It is to be noted that a number of southerners will arrive from the USA, Britain, and Cairo, to participate in the meetings organized by the Mandela Charity Centre.

Source: http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1995

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Djibouti: U.S. long-term Africa intelligence base

Today I found the following draft post in my folder. I guess it must be from last year, probably around July. As I am not sure if I ever published it here at Sudan Watch, I am posting a copy for future reference:

Thanks to a post at Karmalised, I found the following report from afrol.com. Here is a copy of the report, in full:

Djibouti since June 2002 is hosting 1800 US soldiers that are busy building a permanent military base to coordinate intelligence operations on the Horn and East Africa. Numerous US operations are already interfering with the aims of Muslim societies in the region.

The American military base at Djibouti's ex-French post Camp Lemonier is increasingly present in US media. Here, "the quiet battle" in the war against terrorism is waged by a new US military anti-terrorism taskforce, visiting American journalists conclude. The Djibouti base is turning into the most strategic cell in the US-led war against Muslim terrorists and alleged terrorists.

The US news agency 'Associated Press' (AP) recently sent its journalist Chris Tomlinson to Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, or what he calls "the heart of the Bush administration's quiet battle against Islamist militants operating in six nations in East Africa and in Yemen," from Kenya to Sudan.

The journalist observed great activity at the US base, where soldiers still sleep in tents. Great resources are however spent to upgrade the former French Foreign Legion post and the US troops leave no doubt that they intent to stay for a long time in Djibouti.

We are the gathering point and dissemination point for all information, Commander Cooper told the AP journalist. "We are empowering host nations to retake neighbourhoods that people are trying to take from them," added Brigadier-General Martin Robeson, referring to Muslim groups. Mr Robeson is the commander of the US task force in Djibouti.

The soldiers interviewed confirm that the US troops stationed in Djibouti are active in all the countries of the region, primarily coordinating intelligence work between Washington, military and civilian US representations in the region and the cooperating governments of the Horn. They claim to have disrupted several terrorist plots during their stay in Djibouti.

The US troops in Djibouti however also are directly involved in what normally is considered within the sovereignty of independent states. This includes border security and coastal security for the countries of the Horn.

Fishermen from the Somali southern city of Raas Kambooni this week learned what the US troops in Djibouti mean with coastal security assistance. According to the newspaper 'Houg Ogal', the fishermen had stumbled onto US intelligence cameras and other electronic devices, installed on the depopulated rocky island of Burr Gaabo near the Kenyan borders, but within Somali territorial waters.

In Kenya, the coastal town of Lamu currently again is experiencing a large joint Kenyan-US military exercise. According to the Kenyan Department of Defence, the US troops involved are part of the anti-terrorism task force for the Horn of Africa, based in Djibouti. The Kenyan-US anti-terrorism exercise is the fourth within short time.

Especially in Somalia and Kenya, the US troops believe to find essential links to their main enemy, the al-Qaeda terrorist network. Somalia has been without a central government for 12 years and a group connected with al-Qaeda in the 1990s temporarily established here. Its stronghold was in Raas Kambooni - where local fishermen now find electronic surveillance devices.

Kenya is the African country where most terrorist attacks have taken place. The US troops therefore keep an extra eye on this country, counting on total collaboration from Nairobi authorities. General Robeson in Djibouti claims that "hundreds of new al-Qaeda members have been recruited" in Kenya, "despite stepped-up anti-terrorism efforts."

But this alleged new recruitment of al-Qaeda members in the region has also been termed a failure of the US military taskforce in Djibouti. Analysts interviewed by the Nairobi-based 'East African' say that the US administration has "failed to respond appropriately to the election of a reform-minded president in Kenya."

Washington's rhetoric proved largely hollow, the Kenyan analysts added. While the military cooperation between the US and Kenya is booming, the chance to improve Kenyans' lives under the new government of President Mwai Kibaki, supporting his economic and social reforms, has been largely missed by Washington.

With misery still prevailing in Africa's Horn and Kenya, recruitment for Islamist extremists will not diminish, regional critics hold.

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Monday, August 01, 2005

Sudan's SPLM names Salva Kiir as Garang's successor

Salva Kiir got the support of the entire SPLM as Garang's successor.

Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, the man Mr Garang had tried for years to topple, appealed for calm as he declared three days of national mourning. The President described Mr Garang as a "brother" and a great loss to the country. "He is a true peace partner and he has played a big role," he said.

U.S. President George W Bush is saddened by Garang's death and calls for calm in Sudan.

The U.S. dispatched two senior envoys to Sudan today in hopes of keeping the peace process in south Sudan on track.

Salva Kiir by coffin

New leader of SPLM Salva Kiir (L) walks by the coffin of John Garang in New Site village in Southern Sudan August 1, 2005. (Reuters)

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Millions 'still at risk in Darfur' - UN attacks Sudan for breaking rape pledge

Scotsman report July 31 says Sudanese police and soldiers continue to rape helpless civilians in Darfur despite government promises to stop them and punish those responsible, according to a UN report.

Victims and witnesses are routinely threatened and sometimes even charged with crimes if they come forward with allegations of rape, the report said. Authorities also intimidate humanitarian groups investigating the claims.
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Millions 'still at risk in Darfur'

Scotsman report July 30 says the lives of millions of people displaced by the conflict in Darfur are "hanging in the balance", aid workers warned, with the situation little improved from a year ago.
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South Sudan's new leader

Salva Kiir

Photo: Deputy leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) Salva Kiir presides over a leadership meeting in New Site village in Southern Sudan August 1, 2005. Officials of the former rebel SPLM began meeting on Monday to decide the future of the group after its leader John Garang died in a helicopter crash. The meeting of 21 leaders from the political wing and military command of the SPLM/A was chaired by the deputy leader and Garang's probable replacement Kiir. (Reuters/Radu Sigheti)

UPDATE: Former rebel group SPLM named Salva Kiir to succeed its leader John Garang.
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Darfur rebel says Garang's death was not an accident

John Garang

Photo: A picture taken in April 1986 in southern Sudan shows Colonel John Garang, then leader of the Sudanese People's Liberation Front. The helicopter crash that killed Sudanese First Vice President and southern leader John Garang was not an accident, Darfur rebel leader Abdel Wahed Mohammed Ahmed Nur said. 'John Garang's death is a big loss for the new Sudan forces and for all the Sudanese people,' said the leader of the main rebel group in Sudan's western Darfur, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army. (AFP/File)

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Probe into Garang's death requested

UPI report says a senior aide to John Garang, has called for an investigation into the crash. Excerpt:

Deng Alor, a senior member of Garang's rebel movement, the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, refused to say if the plane crash was accidental or the result of a sabotage.

"We do not rule out any possibility, and that is why we are asking for an investigation," Alor told UPI in a telephone interview from southern Sudan.

President Omar al-Bashir announced earlier Monday Garang died with six aides and seven crew members while on his way back from Uganda in a Ugandan presidential helicopter. It crashed against high mountains due to poor visibility.

Bashir in a statement characterized Garang's death as "a big and terrible loss for the nation" but said it would not disrupt the peace process.

UPDATE - From Coalition for Darfur:

Uganda Launches Probe into Crash of Garang Helicopter:
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Monday he would appoint a special panel to investigate the weekend crash of his helicopter that killed Sudanese Vice President John Garang and 13 others.

In addition, Museveni said Uganda had asked a foreign government to look into Saturday's crash to definitively establish that it was an accident as officials in Kampala have insisted and not the result of sabotage or terrorism.

"I have decided to create a panel of three experts to look into this crash," Museveni said, adding that the team would be appointed shortly by Uganda's transport minister.

"We have also approached a certain foreign government to rule out any form of sabotage or terrorism," he said in a statement read to parliament by Vice President Gilbert Bukenya that did not identify the government involved.
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Uganda declares 3-day mourning over Garang's death

China News agency Xinhua confirms Ugandan government has declared a three-day mourning period with effect from Tuesday with flags flying at half-mast in the whole country to condole the death of John Garang.
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Mbeki appeals for calm in Sudan

President Thabo Mbeki offered condolences on Garang's death and appealed on Monday for restraint in Sudan. Full Story.

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Sudan declares 12-hour curfew after Garang's death

AFP report today says riots, looting and armed clashes broke out in Khartoum and further south in the main city of Juba though calm had returned to Sudan later on Monday afternoon.

Sudanese authorities have declared a 12-hour curfew starting 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) in Khartoum Monday following riots after the death of southern leader John Garang, the SUNA official news agency reported.

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Anti-Arab riots break out in south Sudan capital after Garang death

Listed in an earlier post here are links to posts by bloggers in other countries. Some are suspicious about the circumstances of John Garang's 'accident'. My first reaction was the same but initial reports said the helicopter was unable to land because of poor weather and may have encountered fuel problems causing it to smash into the side of a mountain.

Some bloggers liken the current situation to the start of the Rwandan genocide which began after Rwanda's president perished in an air crash. Going by the following report by AFP, it appears many people on the ground in Sudan are also suspicious of what has happened. One would hope the UN peacekeepers currently in Sudan, as part of the South Sudan peace agreement, will start showing their faces soon:

KHARTOUM, Aug 1 (AFP) - Anti-Arab riots erupted Monday in Juba, the main city in southern Sudan, after the official announcement of southern leader John Garang's death in an air crash, witnesses told AFP.

Thousands of southerners, alleging the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum may have had a hand in Garang's death, attacked shops and other businesses in Juba owned by northern Arab Sudanese.

"They burned down all their shops," Juba resident Mary Keji told AFP on the phone. "We can still see smoke rising from the city's main market."

The protesters ignored appeals by leaders of the former southern rebel group that Garang headed, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), and ransacked the town, vandalising property owned by Arab traders.

"They only targeted Arab businesses," Keji said, adding that government forces intervened in a bid to restore order.

No casualties were immediately reported as the rioters appeared to spare residents and were only targeting Arab property.

Garang's SPLM fought against successive governments in the north for more than two decades, demanding greater autonomy for the animist and Christian south from the Arab-dominated Muslim north.

He returned to Khartoum last July after a landmark north-south peace deal that saw him take up the post of first vice president in a national unity government with former archfoe President Omar al-Beshir.

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Garang's body arrives at SPLM HQ in southern Sudan

AFP report confirms the body of John Garang was brought to his former headquarters in the town of New Site, an official said. Excerpt:

"The remains of Doctor Garang have arrived at the leadership compound in New Site" in southern Sudan, a few miles from the crash site, near the borders with Kenya and Uganda, the official told AFP by telephone.

He said the remains were recovered from the wreckage and brought to the local headquarters of Garang's Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in the town.

New Site is where Garang lived for several years before recently moving to Khartoum, following the January signing of a peace agreement that ended 21 years of a bloody civil war against government forces.

Garang's widow Rebecca told Sudan Radio Service that arrangements for her husband's funeral will be made after consultations with the SPLM.

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Garang helicopter wreckage, bodies found in remote southern Sudan

AFP report says the wreckage of a crashed Ugandan helicopter and the bodies of Sudanese Vice President John Garang and the 13 other people on board have been located in a remote area of southern Sudan, a Ugandan official said Monday.

The official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said a UN search team found the debris along with the bodies in an isolated region near Sudan's border with Kenya and Uganda.

"A UN team that went on the ground witnessed the wreckage," the official said. "It said that all people on board died."

In Nairobi, the deputy chief of Garang's Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) said the helicopter belonging to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had crashed south of the town of New Kush.
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Garang's death

In quotes
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What bloggers are saying

+++ RIP Dr. John Garang DeMabior, a 60 year-old US educated economist who spent 40 years fighting in the bush and waged a 20-year long war on the regime in Khartoum at a cost of two million Sudanese lives. +++

Westminster Confessions in London [a small group of bloggers with first hand experience of life on the ground in Sudan] says it all so beautifully in a post entitled John Garang Dies [keep on scrolling there to see other posts on Sudan]:
"The fragile peace in Sudan is being reaffirmed by the Sudanese government, but the South will need a strong leader to step up and fill Garang's shoes. We grieve with our friends in New Sudan over their loss of this great man, peacemaker, and friend, and our prayers are with them as they look to the future."
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This list will be added to throughout the day:

Owukori Black Looks:
"John Garang is not the first African leader to die in a plane/helicopter accident - there will be many questions asked as to how this happened and more importantly if there was any foul play."

Mistletoe in Kuwait:
"Cause of crash here was bad weather too, but the part my brain can't handle is when you hear Al-Bashir stating after years of a bloody war that 'we never disagreed on any point'..... Am very confused. Must get that book."

Yasser Rihan in Cairo, Egypt:
"John Garang he's a warrior that fought all his life for the independence of souths sudan and when he got near to his dream and he got peace to south sudan he died,maybe millions will remember him and millions hated him but what everybody agrees about is that he'll always be remembered as a key figure and a key player in Sudan and in the world itself as he was behind the international pressure exposed on Sudan.Anyway when I look to those people I always remember whether you are a king or a misreable begger after death we're all equal only our work is what differs between people. May god help us all."

Mustapha at The Beirut Spring:
"The international community has to move fast to avoid another embarrassing repeat of Rwanda. What adds more to the urgency is the symbolic nature of the Sudan conflict: a fight between Moslems and Christians. This should end very quickly. God knows how little we need other Jihadists and Crusaders."

Chinese man in Beijing says today is a really horrible day for all the muslims of Sudan.

US blogger Rocket Jones:
"The article tries hard to be upbeat about the continuing prospects for peace, indicating that no Rwandan-style buildup to violence has been noted. Of course, no buildup was noticed in Rwanda either before almost one million people were massacred in three months. Everyone is saying the right words, but some things aren't adding up quite yet. It could be the confusion of the moment, and the situation may clear up as details emerge."

Raising Kaine in the USA:
"His flight's disappearance evoked memories of the 1994 downing of the airplane of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, who had been trying to implement a power-sharing deal between his fellow Hutus and the rival Tutsis. His death opened the doors to the Rwandan genocide in which more than 500,000 people were killed, following months of preparation by Hutu extremists."

US blogger Tim at bLogicus: "Considering that Northern Sudan has a terrible track record full of human rights violations (e.g., Darfur) and would certainly welcome the demise of the SPLM, it is incumbent upon those overseeing the peace process to conduct a full investigation into Garang's death. Garang survived a 21-year civil war but when peace came died in an aircraft accident, reportedly because of poor whether conditions. I'm suspicious."

Alluta, in the comments at Africa Resistance writes:
"Another source indicated that in an attempt to turn back to Uganda, the helicopter might have veered into what he called 'enemy territory' towards eastern Sudan, but no details were given. This part of Sudan is known to harbour Ugandan rebels known as the Lord's Resistance Army led by Joseph Kony. Yet, another version had it that the helicopter landed safely in another town not too far from Rumbek, from where Garang travelled by road to Juba. This account could not be confirmed."

From MarteyDodoo.com:
"I cannot help but think of the plane crash that killed Rwandan president Juvnal Habyarimana, which sparked the genocide there. I worry that if Garang's helicopter has crashed, suspicions that Khartoum was behind it, might derail the peace. The Washington Post had a good article today about the hopes of the people in southern Sudan for stability and development as a result of the new peace."

UK blogger Mick Hartley says of John Garang:
"He joins the list of African politicians killed in mysterious plane crashes, like Rwandan President Juvnal Habyarimana, whose death was the trigger for the Tutsi massacre, and Mozambique's Samora Machel."

American blogger Bill at Jewels in the Jungle in Germany writes:
"I am personally very saddened about the news of John Garang's death and concerned about the absence of any independent investigation into the crash by accredited international aviation accident experts. To make matters worse it wasn't 2 weeks ago that I was discussing the taking of office by John Garang in Khartoum with a friend of mine here. My friend, a devout Muslim from Senegal, and I rarely agree on global politics and issues and we have especially heated debates (near fistfights) about issues in Africa and the Middle East but on one opinion we were in complete harmony: If John Garang remains in Khartoum the Bashir regime there would kill him. Now he is dead, by an accident, they say."

Eugene at Coalition for Darfur asks:
"Why The Silence? I am just wondering why, as of 11:30 am, there have been no statements released by the State Department (here or here) or White House (here) on Garang's death." -- And Was It An Accident?

British blogger Keith has updates on Africa with news of Garth's idea called Bloggers Unite For Africa. Garth is trying to encourage bloggers to raise awareness and funds for the different crises in Africa such as Sudan and the Sahel food crisis that is hitting West African countries including Niger, and Burkina Faso. He is suggesting people do a yard sale or garage sale, and you can add your name to say you'd like to join in.

Bulletin at Genocide Intervention Fund.
Guardian Unlimited: Newsblog

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Riots after Sudan VP Garang dies

Large-scale riots have broken out in Sudan's capital Khartoum following the death of the country's vice-president, former rebel leader John Garang.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Khartoum says gangs of youths from southern Sudan, like Mr Garang, are battling the security forces and looting cars. Excerpts:

The protesters are throwing stones and smashing office windows. Gunfire can be heard and the security forces are trying to seal off the city centre, our correspondent says.

There are also reports of unrest elsewhere in Sudan. Three days of national mourning have been declared.

Mr Garang's deputy in the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, Salva Kiir Mayardit, will take control of the former rebel group, the SPLM said. Mr Mayardit said the SPLM remained committed to the peace agreement Mr Garang signed in January and urged all Sudanese to remain calm.

SPLM officials stressed that Mr Garang's death had been an accident. Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir said he was confident the peace agreement would remain on course.

The mediator in the long-running Sudanese peace talks, Kenyan General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, said it was clear from the peace agreement that whoever became SPLM leader would also take over as Sudan's vice-president.

Mr Garang's widow, Rebecca, told the BBC that the people of Sudan should carry on with his vision.
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More of the latest news can be found at SudanTribune.

Full Story and obituary.

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