Uganda calls for IGAD summit following Garang's death

Uganda has called for an emergency summit of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) following the death of Sudan's First Vice President John Garang.

According to a report from IRIN news, a UN agency, a senior official from the Ugandan foreign ministry was quoted Wednesday as saying that invitations had been issued to heads of IGAD member- sates to a summit proposed for a date around August 20.

IGAD mediated the peace process that culminated in the January 9 Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed by Garang and Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir in Kenya, ending over two decades of civil war that killed close to two million people.

"We have sent out invitations and are awaiting confirmation. We have proposed August 20 as the summit day, but this may change depending on the response from heads of state from the region," the official said.

"We want to evaluate the situation following Garang's death and give a reassurance that the region is committed to the Sudan peace process," the official said.

Amid ongoing tension in Khartoum following violence that claimed dozens of lives after news of Garang's death in a weekend helicopter crash, fear abounds that Sudan's fragile peace process is under threat.

In a related development, Ugandan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Oryem Okello told a press conference Wednesday that the bodies of seven Ugandans who died during the crash were flown home on Wednesday.

Source: Xinhua