Vol XXVIII   NO. 138      Friday      5 August 2005
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130 killed in Sudan riots

KHARTOUM: Smashed shops and charred vehicles littered the streets of Khartoum yesterday after three days of ethnically driven riots sparked by the death of southern leader John Garang that the Red Cross said killed at least 111 people in the capital alone.

Garang's body, meanwhile, was flown from town to town in southern Sudan for his people to pay last respects to their popular leader before his weekend burial in Juba, which is still recovering from a rampage by ethnic Africans convinced Garang was murdered.

Khartoum's central market area bore the brunt of the violence. Shops lay gutted and stalls overturned. The burnt-out carcasses of some 30 cars littered a nearby parking lot.

Residents combed through the ruins of homes or businesses, trying to salvage the few items that had survived the arson and looting. Others brought in workers to clear away the rubble.

Interior ministry special forces could be seen patrolling the streets in armoured personnel carriers, alongside police pickup trucks mounted with machine guns.

In the city centre, businesses began reopening and people began trickling back to work, albeit under heavy military presence.

But in the shantytowns on the city's outskirts where the rioting was most intense, a few club-wielding men continued to roam the streets.

"Our latest toll is 130 dead and 402 wounded, including 111 dead and 345 wounded in the capital Khartoum and 13 dead and 20 wounded in Juba and six dead and 37 wounded in Malakal," said ICRC spokeswoman Larena Brander.

The ICRC said order had been restored to all parts of Khartoum yesterday after overnight reports of violence in some districts.

Sudanese courts ordered more than 500 people jailed or flogged after convicting them of public order offences in connection with the riots. Those convicted were among more than 1,400 people, nearly all southerners, who were detained following three days of rioting.

African Union (AU) leaders meeting in Ethiopia expressed "deep concern" at the rioting while paying homage to the late Sudanese vice-president.

"Council urged all Sudanese parties concerned to vigorously pursue their efforts aimed at bringing about lasting peace and reconciliation" via the January north-south peace agreement, the AU's Peace and Security Council said.

  
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