# Riots After Garang's Death (2005)

URL: https://allhistories.com/south-sudan/timeline/2005-riots-after-garang-s-death
Location: Khartoum, Sudan
Themes: main-event

Garang's return to Khartoum in July 2005 had been celebrated by the capital's large population of southerners, many of whom lived in poor settlements on the city's outskirts after fleeing the war. Rumours that he had been assassinated spread rapidly once his death was announced on 1 August. Rioting broke out in Khartoum the same day as groups of young southerners attacked northern traders, burned cars and shops and clashed with police; in the following days armed northern groups carried out reprisals against southerners. Unrest also broke out in Juba and other towns. Over three days at least 130 people were reported killed, according to commonly cited estimates, and hundreds were injured, before security forces and appeals by SPLM leaders and the government restored calm. The riots exposed the depth of mistrust between northerners and southerners only weeks after the peace deal took effect. They also demonstrated the fragility of the CPA, which both parties hastened to reaffirm, and many southerners in Khartoum began to think seriously about returning home. At this point in the timeline (1–3 August 2005), the President of the Sudan was Omar al-Bashir (16 October 1993 – 11 April 2019 (over Southern Sudan until 9 July 2011)). In the South: the Acting President of the Government of Southern Sudan was Salva Kiir Mayardit (30 July – 11 August 2005).

## Why it matters
The riots revealed the fragile social basis of the peace and the deep mutual mistrust that would later shape the vote for separation.

Ruler at the Time: [Omar al-Bashir](https://allhistories.com/south-sudan/rulers/omar-al-bashir)

Acting President of the Government of Southern Sudan: Salva Kiir Mayardit (SPLM)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — 2005 Khartoum riots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Khartoum_riots)
- [BBC News — South Sudan profile: timeline](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14019202)
- [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — John Garang](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=John+Garang)
- [Wikipedia — Cpa and Southern Sudan Autonomy (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Sudan_Autonomous_Region_(2005%E2%80%932011))