NO LET UP IN RETALIATION.

Gangs rampage in Sudan's capital.

Pick-ups mounted with machine guns are trying to restore order. Violence is spreading across Sudan's capital, Khartoum, as riots which began after ex-rebel leader John Garang died have turned into retaliatory attacks. Tear gas has been used and a military helicopter is flying low over the city centre, where gangs of men with clubs and automatic weapons are roaming.

There are traffic jams as residents try to flee. In three days of violence the death toll has risen to 84. Sudan's leader and Garang's successor, Salva Kiir, have both called for calm. President Omar Al-Bashir has also announced the creation of a joint committee with the former southern rebels to investigate the cause of the crash in which Garang was killed.

US envoys have met Mr Kiir, who told the BBC "nobody wants war" and reiterated his commitment to the peace process. Garang signed a deal to end 21 years of civil war in January and was sworn in as vice-president of Sudan three weeks ago. Mr Kiir has been chosen as new leader of the former southern rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), and is expected also to be the country's vice-president.

There are also reports of violence in Juba, the main town of the south, where shops owned by northerners - many of whom have lived in the south for decades - were attacked and burnt out.

BBC NEWS REPORT.