[originaltext] In his first decrees as Sudan’s No. 2 leader, former rebel chi

In his first decrees as Sudan’s No. 2 leader, former rebel chief John Garang dissolved his guerrilla movement and dismissed all government officials in 10 southern states.
   The moves implement measures called for under an interim constitution and peace agreement that ended a 21-year civil war between the Muslim north and mainly Christian and animist south.
   The settlement made Gating first vice president—second only to President Omar el-Bashir—as well as president of southern Sudan, letting him set up an interim administration there until a referendum in six years on secession.
   The decrees were announced by state-run Omdurman radio, which used to severely criticize the former rebel leader.
    Garang led the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in the war against the Khartoum government. The war in Africa’s largest country ended in January with the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement, and he was sworn in as first vice president July 9.
   Garang’s decrees replaced the governors in the south who had been appointed by el-Bashir. The edicts also dissolved all the legislative councils in the region.
   Garang set up a new administration, naming Salva Kiir Mayardit as vice presulent of the southern government. Kiir was Garang’s second in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.