Christians have called for prayers of peace in Sudan after the death of Vice President John Garang triggered riots in the capital city of Khartoum on Monday, killing an estimated 36 people.

Director of communication for the Persecution Project Foundation (PPF) Matthew Chancey said: “Pray that a spirit of peace will prevail. The comprehensive peace agreement in Southern Sudan can open many doors to establish an important Christian beachhead in one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.”

Mr Chancey also praised the work of President Garang in supporting and protecting Christianity in Sudan: “President Garang was instrumental in keeping Islamic law from being enforced in Southern Sudan, clearing the way for more Christian missions and freedom of conscience.”

“Garang was extremely supportive of PPF’s efforts to start our Radio Peace project, Sudan’s only Christian radio station. His commitment to Christian education resulted in the founding of the Nakwatom Heritage Academy (another PPF-supported ministry), which provides an explicitly Christian education to hundreds of orphans in southern Sudan. His death is a tragic loss, but we trust in a Sovereign God who reigns over all governments of the earth.”

Garang was killed in a helicopter crash on Saturday near the Sudan-Kenya border. Just three weeks earlier, swathes of supporters had swarmed Garang when he took up his office as Vice President, with many in both Sudan and the international community hopeful that the peace advocate would follow in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela in South Africa to see in a new era of peace in Sudan.

Garang was expected to lead the peaceful reintegration of southern Sudan, a primarily Christian and animist region which has suffered economic devastation after 20 years of civil war with the northern Islamic government. Two million people have died in the conflict owing to hunger and disease.

A curfew was imposed by the Sudanese government from 6:00pm Monday to 6:00am Tuesday in order to restore calm to the capital.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged on Monday for people to remain calm and to see through the historic peace deal signed in January by Garang.

Mr Annan expressed his own regret at the death of the former southern rebel leader. “It was with great sorrow that I learned about the death of Vice President Garang,” he said, calling Mr Garang “a man who had lived and fought for peace and one united Sudan.”

“And just as he was on the verge of achieving what he has lived and fought for, he is taken away from us,” said Mr Annan. “But what is important is tat the Sudanese continue with the process of reconciliation and the process of peace.”

Garang, the leader of the former rebel Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), was a key figure in the peace process to end the great north-south conflict, signing a peace deal with the Khartoum government in January earlier this year.

Mr Annan said: “I hope that spirit, that legacy from Garang, will stay with all the people of Sudan, whether they are from the north or the south, or the east or west.

“They should make peace irreversible in Sudan and work to bring stability to this troubled land.”