Calm returned to the streets of the Sudanese capital Khartoum gradually on Monday after riots broke out following the death of the first vice president and southern leader John Garang in an air crash.

The Sudanese government imposed curfew in Khartoum from 6:00 p.m. on Monday (1500 GMT) to 6:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Tuesday.

An eyewitness said the streets in Khartoum were almost empty except the security forces were deployed.

Riots broke out in the streets of Khartoum after Garang was confirmed dead in a helicopter crash on his way back from Uganda to southern Sudan Saturday night.

A group of people, most of them thought to be southerners, took to the streets in central Khartoum to express their shock.

The rally turned violent, with some of the rioters smashing cars and looting and setting shops ablaze.

A security source said at least 24 people were killed in clashes with police.

Earlier in the day, Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir announced Garang's death, saying it was a great loss to the Sudanese people.

Bashir urged all Sudanese to keep calm and stick to unity and stability in the country.

Garang, who led the former southern rebel group Sudan People's Liberation Movement, signed a peace deal with Bashir on Jan. 9 to end a 21-year civil war in the south.

Under the power-sharing deal, he was sworn in as first vice president of the national unity government on July 9 in Khartoum.

(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2005)