KHARTOUM, Sudan, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- The United Nations says it is ready to help investigate the death of Sudanese Vice President John Garang in a plane crash last month.
A U.N. spokesman said the representative of the U.N. secretary-general in Sudan, Jan Pronk, informed Garang's successor Salva Keer, the new president of the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, that the international organization backed his request for international participation in probing Garang's death.
She said Pronk called for the immediate formation of an international investigation team to put an end to speculation about the conditions of Garang's death on July 30 in the crash of a Ugandan presidential helicopter in southern Sudan. Garang had been a rebel leader in the country until a cease-fire was agreed to.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir announced the formation of a joint government-SPLA/M committee to clarify the circumstances of Garang's death following accusations of possible sabotage.
