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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.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Khartoum says rumours, denied by the government, that one of Garang's long-time adversaries Paulino Matip has been killed has raised already high tension.

The reprisal attacks by northerners on Tuesday were in the outskirts of the capital, where southerners live in displacement camps.

Protesters carry a flag and a poster of John Garang as they march through the streets of Khartoum on Tuesday 2 August
Some 4m southern Sudanese live in the capital

Security forces tried to separate those fighting but southerners accuse them of siding with the northerners, who are mainly Arabs.

News of Mr Garang's death sparked riots among southerners on the streets of Khartoum on Monday. More than 800 people have been wounded in the ensuing clashes which are the worst in Khartoum in years.

UN envoy Jan Pronk says there is no reason for people to believe Garang's death was anything other than an accident.

"But there are some leaders, imams and others who are making irresponsible statements," he told the BBC's Newshour programme.

The International Committee of the Red Cross say they've seen 84 bodies from the first two days of rioting in the capital's morgue.

Mourning

Meanwhile, US envoys met Mr Kiir in New Site, a southern Sudanese settlement near the scene of the crash, where former rebel fighters and civilian supporters have gathered to pay their respects to Garang.

They will also hold talks with President Bashir and other Sudanese leaders as part of the efforts to help reinforce the peace agreement.

Garang's funeral is due to take place on Saturday in Juba.

State media is reporting that President Bashir will be among those attending the funeral.

Garang's body will be taken to other key towns in southern Sudan to allow supporters to pay final respects before the state funeral in Juba, a spokesman announced.

On Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council urged calm.