Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell has died aged 84 of Covid-19 complications, BBC reported Monday.

 He was a former top military officer who rose to become the first African-American secretary of state in 2001 under Republican George W Bush.

"We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American," a statement issued by his family said.

"We want to thank the medical staff... for their caring treatment," it added.

Mr Powell became a trusted military adviser to a number of leading US politicians.

He also saw service in Vietnam, an experience that later helped define his own military and political strategies.

Mr Powell had played an important role in the search for peace in Sudan before South Sudan secession. As a secretary of state, he encouraged efforts that culminated in the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005 that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War between the then government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).