JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma left here for Sudan on Tuesday instead of accompanying President Thabo Mbeki to Gabon.

    Foreign affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said that in the wake of the death of Sudanese Vice President John Garang over the weekend, the visit will provide Minister Dlamini-Zuma with an opportunity to convey President Thabo Mbeki's message of condolences to the Sudanese national leadership during this trying moments of grief and bereavement.

    In her capacity as chair of the African Union Committee on Post-Conflict Reconstruction, he said, Dlamini-Zuma was also expected to call for calm following the outbreak of rioting in towns.

    Violence erupted for the second day running in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Tuesday afternoon.

    On Monday 36 people were killed in riots sparked by the former southern rebel leader's death in a helicopter crash over the weekend.

    It was reported that in some neighborhoods, heavily populated by southerners, outsiders were attacking people in the streets andraiding homes. Two more people in southern Khartoum were alleged to have been shot and killed.

    The AU Committee on Post-Conflict Reconstruction of the War-Affected Areas in Sudan will have been placed under increasing pressure to ensure peace in the region following Garang's untimelydeath.

    Garang was sworn in as Sudan's first vice president three weeksago, ending a 21-year civil war.

    Dlamini-Zuma was expected to return to South Africa on Wednesday. Enditem