Fears of religious strife as Sudan violence continues

VIOLENCE broke out for the second straight day in the Sudanese capital yesterday, a day after 36 people were killed in riots sparked by the death of John Garang, Sudan's vice- president and a former southern rebel leader.

Reports of Arabs from the largely Muslim north of Sudan attacking the Christian and Animist southern Sudanese supporters of Mr Garang emerged a day after those loyal to the late vice-president had taken to the streets of Khartoum, leading to fears that the situation is "turning religious".

"The Arabs are attacking them, entering their houses and looking for southerners," said William Ezekiel, the managing editor of the Khartoum Monitor, a newspaper that focuses largely on southern issues. He said northerners were breaking into houses and trying "to dismantle anything southern".

"It's a reaction to the reaction from yesterday," Mr Ezekiel said. "Where is the government? Where are the police?"

A senior United Nations official in Khartoum said angry southerners from the displaced people's camps outside the capital were converging on Omdurman, a city near Khartoum.

He said one Muslim religious leader had been killed. "The situation is turning religious and that will be even more dangerous," the official said.

Reports of further deaths yesterday could not be independently confirmed. The government renewed a 6pm curfew for a second day, although by mid-afternoon streets in the central city were already almost empty.

Yesterday's violence followed riots on Monday, when supporters of Mr Garang rampaged in Khartoum, burning cars and chasing people with stones, some accusing the government of killing the former rebel leader.

Officials said 36 people were killed and approximately 300 more injured in Monday's clashes. No information was available on how many of those killed were security forces and how many protesters.

Mr Garang died on Saturday along with 13 other people in a helicopter crash near the Sudanese-Ugandan border.

The government and his own group, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), ruled out foul play. Three days of national mourning were declared.

Mr Garang will be buried on Saturday in Juba, the planned capital of a future autonomous government of the country's southern region, said Yasir Arman, SPLM's spokesman.

Mr Arman said Mr Garang's body would be taken to key towns in southern Sudan to allow his supporters to pay their last respects before the state funeral in Juba, which he said would be attended by the president, Omar al-Bashir, and other regional leaders and international representatives.

Mr Garang became the country's first vice-president last month as part of the US-backed peace deal that ended a two-decade-long civil war between his rebel force and the army of Sudan's Islamic-oriented government based in Khartoum.