Gunmen kill African Union officer in Darfur
April 15, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Gunmen killed an officer in the African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, making April the deadliest month so far for African troops trying to bring stability to western Sudan, an AU spokesman said on Sunday.
Noureddine Mezni said the unidentified gunmen shot the major and seized his vehicle on Saturday night near the back entrance of the AU compound in El-Fasher, capital of north Darfur.
“He was the seventh soldier we lost in April. This is a real tragedy for us,” said Mezni.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte had visited the AU compound earlier on Saturday as part of a visit to Sudan aimed at persuading Khartoum to permit the deployment of U.N. troops in Darfur to help AU forces.
The United States has threatened to impose tough new measures against Sudan to try and break its resistance to U.N. peacekeepers but is holding back to give diplomacy a chance.
Saturday’s attack was the third on AU troops in April, reinforcing fears violence could undermine the world’s biggest humanitarian effort as the stalemate over a U.N. deployment drags on.
Mezni said the assault made April the deadliest month for AU forces since they were deployed in Darfur in 2004.
Unidentified gunmen attacked an African Union peacekeeper patrol in the Darfur region of western Sudan on April 10, killing one and injuring two.
Five African Union peacekeepers were also killed earlier in the month near Sudan’s border with Chad after they also came under attack by gunmen, part of a lethal combination of militias, bandits and feuding tribes thriving on Darfur’s chaos.
A senior Nigerian officer working with the AU mission has been missing since he was kidnapped in December.
OVERSTRETCHED, UNDER-EQUIPPED
AU officials have said their 7,000-strong force is overstretched and under-equipped to police Darfur, a region the size of France where violence has persisted despite a 2006 peace deal between the government and one rebel faction.
Experts estimate about 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million have fled their homes since the Darfur conflict flared in 2003 when rebels took up arms against government forces, saying Khartoum had neglected the area, and then splintered into many factions adding to the mayhem.
The bloodshed has spilled into Chad, which said it wants to ease tensions with Sudan after a recent border clash but has vowed to use military force against rebels and Sudanese militias, even across the border, if attacked.
Some African countries with troops in the AU mission have threatened to withdraw their forces unless they are reinforced with more men and better equipment.
Sudanese officials working to finalize a deal on U.N. support for the African Union mission in Darfur have recommended Khartoum permit the use of attack helicopters by peacekeepers, the Foreign Ministry said.
The United Nations is nearing a deal with Khartoum to add 3,000 U.N. military personnel and equipment to the AU force under the so-called heavy support package but Sudan has so far objected to fielding six attack helicopters.
Sudan also has not agreed to the next stage of an AU-U.N. Darfur operation, which would involve 25,000 troops and police, saying it would amount to colonialism.
(Reuters)