Monday, August 1 2005 13:04 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Nairobi: Sudan's newly appointed first Vice President John Garang has been killed in a weekend helicopter crash, the ex-rebel leader's former guerrilla group has told diplomats, Kenyan and UN officials said today (Aug 1, 2005).

Retired Kenyan General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, the chief mediator in peace talks that ended 21 years of north-south civil war in January, said the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) had told him their leader had perished.

"The SPLM have called me to confirm that Dr Garang died in the helicopter crash," Sumbeiywo told agencies.

"He died on Saturday night.," he said.

The general, who was close to both Garang and Khartoum, said he hoped the death would not lead to the collapse of the landmark peace deal he painstakingly engineered over a six year process.

Sumbeiywo said. "It means a lot to the peace process. We all hope that they stick to the peace process because there is a clause in the power-sharing agreement that directs who is going to take over in case something like this happens, like it has happened."

"We all pray to God that nothing bad happens to the peace process," he said.

A United Nations official, speaking to sources on condition of anonymity, said the ex-rebel group had also confirmed Garang's death to UN and other diplomats.

"An SPLM official came and confirmed to us that Dr Garang died in the helicopter crash," the official said.