African peacekeepers killed in Darfur attack
September 30, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Ten African Union peacekeepers have been killed and 40 are missing after their base in Sudan’s Darfur region was overrun by gunmen, less than a month before peace talks are due to take place in Libya.
“Ten soldiers were killed, eight wounded of whom six have been evacuated to Khartoum and 40 are still missing,” African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) spokesman Noureddine Mezni told AFP of the attack on Saturday night on Haskanita base in southern Darfur.
The AU on Sunday described a “sustained attack by a large and organised group of heavily armed men” who broke into the camp with 30 vehicles, forcing AU troops to fight “a defensive battle.”
“This is the worst single incident perpetrated against AMIS since the mission began in July 2004 and the first time that an AMIS (base) has been deliberately attacked in this fashion,” it said.
The AU declined to speculate on who carried out the attack or elaborate on the nationalities of those killed. The missing included 36 AU soldiers, three military observers and a police officer.
Seventeen other peacekeepers who were kidnapped in the raid were later discovered to the south of the base, Mezni said.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the killings and called on Darfur’s warring sides to recommit to a settlement, citing peace talks slated for Libya on October 27 and preparations for a joint deployment of AU-UN troops.
“The secretary general condemns in the strongest possible terms the recent attack on African Union peacekeepers in Haskanita, South Darfur and calls for the perpetrators to be held fully accountable for this outrageous act,” he said in a statement.
Ban urged all parties “to recommit as a matter of the highest priority to a peaceful resolution to the conflict.”
AU-UN joint envoy Rodolphe Adada said he was “appalled by the outrageous and deliberate attack.”
AU security chief Said Djinnit said the perpetrators must be punished. “We believe strongly that the group involved should bear the full responsibility of this heinous attack,” he said.
The under-equipped African force of around 7,000 troops from 26 countries patrolling Darfur, a region the size of France, is due to begin being replaced later this year by the hybrid 26,000-strong AU-UN force.
Five Senegalese AU peacekeepers were killed in an attack in April.
“Such irresponsible attacks constitute a serious violation to the ceasefire agreement,” the new commander of the hybrid force, General Martin Luther Agwai, said, implicitly blaming rebels.
“Rebel groups, who indulge in such random violence and bloodshed, undermine their own credibility on any negotiation table.”
Agwai also said it was regrettable that the attack happened ahead of peace talks due in Tripoli later this month in an attempt to broaden a Darfur peace agreement signed by only one rebel faction in May last year.
“Despite the casualties and loss of life, we will persevere in our efforts to keep the fragile peace on the ground while all eyes are set on the negotiation table,” he said.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said the attack showed the need to deploy the hybrid force, to which Cairo has offered to contribute 2,500 troops, “as quickly as possible.”
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the “callous and destructive act” highlighted the need for “all sides in the conflict to commit to an immediate cessation of hostilities and to join the political process.”
France’s Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Paris “reaffirms its trust in and support for the African Union in the difficult task it is shouldering in Darfur on behalf of the international community.”
The attack came as South African Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu arrived in Khartoum heading a group of statesmen known as The Elders seeking to help peace efforts in Darfur.
The delegation also includes former United Nations envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, US ex-president Jimmy Carter and former South African president Nelson Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel.
“This attack shows how desperate the situation is and how big is the need for peace,” Tutu told reporters.
The group is due to meet Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir as well as opposition politicians, community leaders and people displaced from their homes.
Conflict and famine in Darfur have left at least 200,000 people dead and two million displaced since Khartoum enlisted Janjaweed Arab militia allies to put down an ethnic minority revolt in 2003.
(AFP)