Darfur rebels target AU peacekeepers
Oct 9, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — A rebel group on Sunday took as many as 40 African Union (AU) peacekeepers hostage in the troubled Darfur region of western Sudan, a day after three troops and two contractors were killed.
AU spokesman Noureddine Mezni said that some of the hostages had been released later the same day, but he could not give a figure.
“According to our information, the released persons are currently headed on foot to an AU base in the Tina region,” said the spokesman, adding that only when they arrive would it be possible to clarify the number.
“Confusion remains concerning the number of hostages,” said Mezni. “We talked before 18 hostages, but the number appears to be higher, as the hostage-takers apparently then took some of the rescuers hostage.”
The abductions took place near the town of Tine on Sudan’s frontier with Chad.
The kidnappers were believed to be members of a dissident faction of Darfur’s rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Mezni said.
But the head of JEM’s negotiating team at peace talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja told reporters that the insurgent leader they believe to be behind the kidnapping had been drummed out of the movement.
“Mohammed Saleh is not a member of JEM. We kicked him out almost six months ago, and right now he’s across the border in a neighbouring country,” Mohammed Tugod said, apparently referring to Chad, but refusing to do so explicitly.
“I think this act has been done by Mohammed Saleh and now we are trying to investigate and find out where he has gone with these people,” he said.
Chad, which had 10 soldiers among those kidnapped, condemned the hostage-taking “indefensible and barbaric act” and its foreign minister called for the immediate liberation of the AU hostages.
The pan-African body separately blamed the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), the armed wing of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), for Saturday’s deadly clashes near Menawasha on the Khor Abeche road in South Darfur State.
“All the evidence shows SLA direct responsibility for the incident,” the mission charged in a statement.
In a statement released in Addis Ababa, the AU said Commission Chairman Alpha Omar Konare “unreservedly condemns the killings and holds the SLA responsible for this wicked and atrocious act.”
It was the first time the AU has suffered fatalities in the conflict-torn Sudanese region where it has some 6,300 troops monitoring a fragile ceasefire between black African rebels and government-backed Arab militias.
An estimated 180,000 to 300,000 people have died in Darfur since the civil conflict erupted in February 2003, with some 2.6 million civilians left homeless.
The latest killings occurred as the warring parties entered a new round of peace talks in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on Sept 15.
“This escalation of violence is major source of concern at a time when the Abuja peace talks are facing hurdles,” said Mezni.
The AU said earlier this week that divisions within the SLM were holding up progress.
Mezni said the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the AU would hold an emergency meeting in Addis Ababa on Monday to discuss the deteriorating security situation in Darfur.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana who visited Darfur on Saturday before heading for Chad condemned the deadly ambush, saying it was “very negative.”
The security situation in Darfur sharply worsened last month after rebels seized two government-held towns and Arab militias loyal to Khartoum raided camps for displaced persons in the region.
“Everybody, rebels included, must stop the violence which aims to terrorize the population,” Solana said, as he called warring parties to concentrate on the Abuja talks.
(AFP/ST)