Gunmen kill peacekeeper near Darfur IDP camp
October 30, 2008 (EL FASHER) — Gunmen in heavily armed vehicles
attacked peacekeepers near Kassab internally displaced persons (IDPs)
camp in Darfur on Wednesday evening, killing one and wounding another,
according to a press release from UNAMID, the African Union – United
Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur.
Kassab IDP camp, which is adjacent to Kutum, a government-controlled
town in North Darfur, is the site of several previous attacks on
peacekeepers.
South African soldiers serving with UNAMID came under attack Wednesday
from unidentified men who arrived in several heavily armed vehicles.
At the time of the incident, the contingent was securing a water point
near the Kassab IDP camp.
The injured female soldier and the body of the peacekeeper who died
were evacuated to El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.
The peacekeeping mission has sent troops to reinforce the attacked
location, search for the assailants and conduct an investigation,
according to UNAMID.
The press release stated, “UNAMID strongly condemns this cowardly act
of violence targeting United Nations personnel who work tirelessly to
alleviate the dire suffering of Darfurians.”
“UNAMID peacekeepers are serving in Darfur in an effort to bring back
and maintain peace in this beleaguered part of the Sudan and all
parties are, once again, reminded that, under international law, any
attack against peacekeepers constitutes a war crime,” it added.
When the Darfur war escalated in 2003, about 25,000 people fled to
Kassab after their villages were attacked.
Driven from their lands and livelihoods, the IDPs were also restricted
from accessing the Kutum market by offices of Sudan’s military
intelligence, according to a 2005 livelihoods study. To access the
market, IDPs were required to apply for and purchase a one-day permit
to purchase a limited quota of goods. Then they had to bring the goods
through military checkpoints.
The fighting in northern Darfur escalated again in the wake of a May
2006 deal struck between the government and a rebel leader. On Sept.
4, 2006, five armed men opened fire on the African Union Protection
Force in their police post at Kassab IDP camp, though there were no
casualties. By October, humanitarian groups and AU police had
withdrawn from the area around Kassab and the displaced made a plea
for protection.
In February 2007, unidentified gunmen in Kassab killed a police
officer belonging to the African Union peacekeeping force, and the
camp remained largely void of any international presence.
In March of that year, Sudanese troops refused entry to the Kassab IDP
camp to a convoy carrying the UN’s top humanitarian official, John
Holmes. Holmes was halted at a checkpoint about 1.2 kilometers (0.8
miles) outside the camp, and he was told he did not have the proper
papers to visit the site.
By June 2008, World Health Organization reported that Kassab camp was
one of the main locales for cases of bloody diarrhea in the district.
There are currently 9,073 military personnel serving with UNAMID, out
of 19,555 military personnel authorized by the United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1769.
(ST)