Sudanese Vice-President John Garang, a former rebel leader and a key figure in the country's fledgling peace deal, died when the helicopter he was travelling in crashed into a southern Sudan mountain range in bad weather, the Sudanese Government said Monday.

Thirteen others aboard the helicopter were also killed, an official statement said. The crash site was found near the Uganda-Sudan border, a Ugandan official said.

The 60-year-old former rebel leader was sworn in as vice-president just three weeks ago.

"It has now been confirmed that the helicopter crashed after it hit a mountain range in southern Sudan because of poor visibility and this resulted in the death of Dr John Garang DeMabior, six of his colleagues and seven other crew members," said a statement released by the office of Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir.

Violence broke out in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, after Garang's death was confirmed, with groups of men setting fire to at least 10 cars. Anti-riot police were deployed to several areas of Khartoum where crowds of southern Sudanese were pelting passers-by with stones and smashing car windows. At least 12 people were killed in the clashes.

"The (Sudanese) president has appealed to the people to be calm, expressing that although the loss is great the peace process will continue because peace has become the property of the Sudanese people and peace-loving people around the world," the statement said.

Garang was sworn in as vice-president on July 9. He and President Omar el-Bashir were to work on setting up a power-sharing government.

"Losing the brother, the doctor, is a huge loss," el-Bashir said in a speech broadcast on Sudanese and African television stations. "He is a true peace partner and he has played a big role.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa expressed confidence in Sudan's peace process.

Speaking in Cairo, Moussa said: "I believe the accident will not impact the peace process in Sudan."

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Monday also lamented the death of Garang but said he was hopeful the country's peace process would hold together.

Source: agencies-Xinhua