Two AU soldiers found dead after ambush in Sudan Darfur
Oct 13, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — Two African Union soldiers missing after an ambush in Sudan’s Darfur region have been found dead, bringing the total killed in the attack to seven, AU sources said on Thursday.
The AU blamed the main rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), for the ambush on Saturday in South Darfur, the forces first casualties in more than a year monitoring the region’s shaky ceasefire.
“The bodies of the two missing have been found a few hundred metres from the area in which the incident took place,” one source said. The attack was in SLA-controlled territory.
Two Nigerian AU soldiers and two civilian contractors were killed in the ambush. A third soldier later died from his injuries. The missing two soldiers were also Nigerian.
A day after the attack, 38 AU soldiers were abducted in the Chadian-Sudanese border town of Tine. They were rescued after a battle between rival rebel factions, but the rebels warned the AU not to enter their areas.
The rebel factions are demanding a seat at AU-sponsored peace talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
Two main rebel groups, the SLA and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) are represented at the talks, which have been plagued by fighting on the ground and rebel divisions.
Non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing Khartoum of neglect and of monopolising power and wealth.
Khartoum responded by mobilising mostly Arab militias, who stand accused of a campaign of rape, killing and looting in non-Arab villages.
Tens of thousands have been killed and more than 2 million forced from their homes in the violence, which the United States called genocide. Khartoum denies genocide but the International Criminal Court is investigating alleged war crimes.
(Reuters)