Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir issued a decree on Thursday, naming Salva Kiir as first vice president and president of southern Sudan to succeed the late John Garang.

Kiir was chosen to be Garang's successor as leader of the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) on Monday.

Garang signed with Bashir a comprehensive peace deal in January this year to end a 21-year-old civil war in the African country, and he was sworn in as first vice president on July 9.

He died in a helicopter crash on Saturday after wrapping up a visit to Uganda.

Source: Xinhua