Sudan's
Vice-President John Garang, a former rebel leader, has been killed in
a crash, a UN official has said.
Mr Garang had been missing since Saturday, when contact was lost
with his helicopter flying back from Uganda.
The BBC's Jonah Fisher says Mr Garang's importance in holding
together southern Sudan cannot be overstated.
He was greeted as a peacemaker by more than a million people when
he was sworn in three weeks ago as part of a deal ending a
decades-long civil war.
His death will be a huge blow to the Sudanese people, our
correspondent adds.
On Sunday, state television had said he was missing, then that he
had landed safely at a military base in the south.
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![]() Garang left Kampala heading for the New
Sight camp in southern Sudan and contact was lost with the
plane ![]()
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But a later report said authorities were still trying to locate his
plane, lost between Uganda and southern Sudan.
Mr Garang left Uganda after talking with President Yoweri Museveni
about strengthening ties between the two countries.
Mr Garang's former rebel movement, which he steered through a
bloody 21-year civil war against the government in the north, is said
to have been holding a crisis meeting in Kenya.
The conflict in Sudan ended with the signing of a peace agreement
in January.
