African Union regrets killing rioters in Darfur
Dec 12, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur said Tuesday it deeply regretted shooting dead two rioters, but that its troops fired in self-defense.
The killings on Sunday in the west Sudanese town of El-Geneina were the first time that Darfur refugees had died at the hands of the peacekeepers who are mandated to protect them.
Separately Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on the U.N. Human Rights Council to send an independent team of investigators to look into the escalating atrocities in Darfur. Sunday’s riot occured during the funeral for 30 refugees killed the previous day by the janjaweed, a pro-government militia.
“It is urgent that we take action to prevent further violations, including by bringing to account those responsible for the numerous crimes that have already been committed,” Annan said in a recorded video address to the rights council’s emergency session on Darfur.
In Sudan, a United Nations official said three refugees were killed in the riot, but AU spokesman Noureddine Mezni said only two had died and that the AU had taken a third refugee with severe wounds to hospital.
“We infinitely regret shooting at the crowd. The AU came to Darfur to protect civilians, but this was a last recourse in legitimate defense,” Mezni told The Associated Press.
The riot began as a funeral for 30 refugees killed by the janjaweed on Saturday. Some of the mourners became angry when they saw AU officials observing the funeral. They blamed the AU force for not doing enough to protect them from the janjaweed.
Mezni said a mob hijacked the car of the AU officials, and then attacked and torched an AU police post.
The rioters marched on the AU’s regional base in El-Geneina, where bullets and rocket propelled grenades were fired at the peacekeepers, Mezni said.
He said no peacekeeper was wounded, but the crowd broke through the base’s security perimeter, apparently aiming to steal weapons and assault the military commander.
“At that point, the troops had no other choice but to fire,” Mezni said.
After the riot, Sudanese police and army deployed around the base, which houses hundreds of peacekeepers.
In another development, the AU said Tuesday it was trying to procure the release of two peacekeepers who were kidnapped in their car on Sunday night in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher.
The AU did not identify the suspected kidnapping group. The U.N. has said one of the hostages is a Nigerian major.
The AU force was first deployed in June 2004 in Darfur, where more than three years of fighting have killed at least 200,000 people and displaced 2,5 million others. The conflict has pitted rebels from Darfur’s ethnic African population against government forces and the Arab janjaweed militia.
Darfur has become increasingly violent since May when one rebel group and the government signed a peace accord, which the other insurgents rejected as inadequate.
The janjaweed have been accused of widespread atrocities, including killing and raping civilians and burning their villages.
The government denies backing the janjaweed, but UN and AU officials have accused government forces of arming the militia and coordinating attacks with them.
The United Nations is trying to replace the underpowered AU force with 20,000 U.N. peacekeepers, but the government has rejected this.
(AP)