AT least 130 people have been killed and about 350 wounded in Sudan in three days of violence after the death of former rebel leader and first Vice-President John Garang, the Sudanese Red Crescent said yesterday.

Security forces restored a tense calm to the Sudanese capital of Khartoum today, a day after 36 people were killed in bloody riots sparked by the death of Sudanese vice president and former southern rebel leader John Garang.

JOHN Garang, who led Sudan’s southern rebels for two decades before making peace and joining the government he fought, has died in a helicopter crash, sparking riots and fears for the country’s stability.

CHEERING crowds and a brass band greeted UN chief Kofi Annan yesterday on his first visit to south Sudan, but he was also met with a stark message on the desperate need for aid in the war-battered region.

DONORS promised $4.5 billion (€3.5bn) yesterday to help Sudan recover after Africa's longest civil war, but Washington told Khartoum to end atrocities in Darfur or risk a slide "back into the depths".