KHARTOUM, 8 August 2005 — Sudanese President Omar Bashir yesterday decreed the formation of a ministerial committee to probe deadly rioting that erupted following the death of former southern rebel John Garang, official media said.
The panel will investigate “circumstances that led to the eruption of riot, murder, arson and damage against the citizens in Khartoum and other states in the wake of announcing the death of First Vice President John Garang.”
The riots, which mainly pitted Christian or animist southerners against Muslim northerners earlier this week, left 111 people dead in Khartoum and 19 in two southern towns, according to the Red Cross.
The committee, which is chaired by Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Bekri Hassan Salih, is to probe “the reasons, motives and parties that contributed to the incidents,” state media said, quoting the text of the decree. It will also investigate any “security shortcomings and negligence in dealing with the incidents.” The committee has two weeks from the date of commencing its task to submit its report to the president.
Garang, the head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement died in a July 30 helicopter crash on his way back to Sudan from Uganda. He had been sworn in as vice president on July 9 following a landmark peace deal that ended 21 years of civil war between north and south Sudan. Bashir announced on Wednesday the establishment of a committee to probe Garang’s death, which many of his supporters claim was no accident.
The United Nations yesterday urged Khartoum and ex-rebels to speed up implementation of a landmark January peace deal and resolve contentious territory disputes. A day after tens of thousands of Sudanese mourned Garang’s passing in emotional funeral ceremonies here, UN special envoy for Sudan Jan Pronk said both parties to the historic agreement had been slow to put in place key provisions of the pact.
In particular, he said quick decisions were needed on the status of several oil-rich regions in central Sudan claimed by both Khartoum and the SPLM where militia activity continues despite the accord. “The problem is not in the north or south of Sudan,” Pronk told reporters after meeting with Salva Kiir, Garang’s successor as head of the SPLM.
“The problem is on the fringes of central Sudan. “There are groups, armed groups, that have become agitated, people are afraid of each other in Abyei,” he said, referring to one of three disputed oil-rich zones that were left out of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in Kenya. “They need political discussions,” Pronk said.
