Rwanda accuses Sudan of standing behind killing of its peacekeepers

December 6, 2009 (WASHINGTON) – The Rwandan government today pointed fingers at Sudan suggesting the latter is responsible for the deadly attacks over the weekend against its peacekeepers deployed in Darfur.

Five Rwandan peacekeepers in the African Union-United Nations mission in Darfur (UNAMID) were shot dead after coming under fire in North Darfur in two separate incidents on Friday and Saturday.

The assault that took place is of a unique nature as it took place over consecutive days and in government controlled areas and the activities of the peacekeepers at the time involved transporting and distributing water to the displaced.

The Rwandan Defense Force (RDF) spokesman Major Jill Rutaremara told Kigali-based The Sunday Times “that there is no known presence of rebel activity in the area where the ambush took place”.

“The proximity of the ambush to the checkpoint manned by the government forces raises some questions. The only logical conclusion the RDF can make is that the RDF Peacekeepers were killed and injured by the government forces,” Rutaremara said.

UNAMID issued a statement said that on Friday a platoon of 20 Rwandan Peacekeepers on board three Land Cruiser pick-ups escorting one water tanker was attacked by a group of unknown armed men in Saraf Umra, North Darfur, 2 km from UNAMID Company location, and 300 meters from a Government of Sudan (GoS) checkpoint.

“Two Rwandan soldiers were shot dead at the scene and a third died soon after. Two soldiers were seriously wounded and air-evacuated to El Fasher…..the UNAMID Rwandan team, which had arrived in the area less than two weeks ago, returned fire with restraint due to the presence of civilians who were moving in the incident area”.

In Saturday’s attack, assailants approached the gate of a camp for people displaced by the conflict and shot at peacekeepers distributing water, said UNAMID spokesman Kemal Saiki. That attack took place about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of el-Fasher, the capital of northern Darfur.

The governor of North Darfur Mohamed Osman Kibir announced on Saturday that the gunmen behind the attack have been arrested and transferred to El-Fasher but did not provide their numbers or the motives.

He noted that some of the armed looters used to attack the peacekeepers to steal their cars. He described the attack as an isolated incident stressing the commitment of the state government to cooperate with the hybrid operation in all areas to accomplish its mission.

But the Sudanese foreign ministry issued a statement saying that the incident is not a random one but that its aim was to sabotage the security enjoyed in Darfur recently to give the impression that reports on war being over in the region as false. The press release said that the attackers are being pursued to bring them to justice.

The Rwandan president Paul Kagame on Sunday said his government has no intention of pulling out its troops following the attack but said that Sudan must provide explanations.

“I cannot say the attack targeted Rwandan forces, investigations are still going on, it is a sign that insecurity persists but what we need is an explanation from the Sudan government since the attacks took place close to where government forces protected,” Kagame said.

The Rwandan president said it was not clear yet whether there have been any arrests made and who the suspects were, which he expected from the Sudan government.

Kagame noted that the attacks would not affect the two countries’ relationship but instead called for Rwandan forces to intensify their own security and vigilance.

Asked what he would do if the attacks on Rwandans continued, Kagame said that it would bring the understanding closer to what the problem is, noting that it was better to find out what the reason for the attack was first before any other conclusion.

Darfur rebels on their end accused Khartoum of staging attack as part of a bigger strategy aimed at ejecting the peacekeepers and dismantling the IDP camps.

Last month the UN today accused the Sudanese government of breaching the status of force agreement with regard to UNAMID by placing impediments on the movement of its peacekeepers.

“Since January 2009, there have been at least 42 incidents in which a UNAMID patrol was denied passage by a Government official, including incidents in which Government officials specifically threatened the safety of UNAMID staff and equipment” the UN Secretary General said in the report.

The report content prompted an angry response from the Sudanese ambassador to the UN Abdel-Mahmood Abdel-Haleem who told Reuters today that “with peace in sight” UNAMID “should plan for an exit strategy”.

“One big fact should be the focus of the report — that the war is over,” he told Reuters.

The Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) spokesperson Ahmed Hussein Adam condemned the attack calling it a “blatant violation to international humanitarian law and a war crime”.

“This is in line with the policy of the [Sudanese] government to oust the peacekeepers and force the IDP’s to return home and tell the world that the war is over and everything is back to normal” he said.

“The report by Adada [former UNAMID chief] gave Khartoum the cover to carry out the plan” Hussein said.

The Sudan Liberation Movement chairman Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur echoed statements by JEM stressing that the international community “must hold Sudan accountable for the killings”.

“This is an act of contempt to the UN and the Security Council,” Al-Nur added.

UNAMID reported today that the security situation in Darfur has deteriorated in the wake of attacks on its peacekeepers.

Almost two years after being set up, UNAMID has still only reached 69 per cent of its authorized troop strength – 14,638 military personnel out of the total 19,555, and 4,449 police – and still lacks key military elements, including two medium transport units, a level II hospital, an aerial reconnaissance unit, and 18 medium utility helicopters.

(ST)