Sudanese rebel leader turned vice president John Garang died in a helicopter crash Sunday. He was a charismatic leader whose death strikes a blow to the January peace deal that ended a 21-year civil war between the mostly Muslim north and the Christian and animist south.

Garang assumed the vice presidency just three weeks ago. Members of Garang's southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement and officials with the government in Khartoum have vowed to maintain the peace agreement.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.