John Garang, newly-inaugurated leader of the South-Sudanese autonomous region, has been killed in a helicopter crash. This event has sparked rioting in Khartoum, and does not bode well for the shaky peace agreement.
More personally, for those who don’t know, my father was in Sudan for the inauguration as a guest of the SPLA. I’ve just received some email from him; he’s back in Nairobi and is OK, although understandably disheartened.
They’re saying the crash was weather-related, which is entirely possible. It’s rotten and suspicious timing though. God, what a clusterfuck.