KHARTOUM, Aug 3: Riots that erupted in the Sudanese capital following the announcement of former southern rebel leader John Garang’s death have left almost one hundred people dead, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday.
“The Sudanese Red Crescent shared this report with us which we deem credible,” said ICRC Press adviser Larena Brander. Riots pitting southerners against northerners broke out in Khartoum on Monday and have been continuing since.
The governor of Khartoum, Abdelhalim Mutaafi, said authorities had identified 77 bodies as of Tuesday night. He said there was no report of fatal casualties on Wednesday. Meanwhile in the main southern city of Juba, at least 18 people were killed during similar riots on Monday, an official with Garang’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army said. Calm had returned to Sudan by Wednesday evening.—AFP