N. Darfur governor accuses Minnawi’s rebels of killing UNAMID peacekeepers

October 12, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — North Darfur’s governor accused the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minnin Minnawi (SLM-MM) of killing three peacekeepers and wounding five others in an attack carried out in Zam Zam internally displaced persons camp last Monday.

UNAMID disclosed today the nationality of peacekeepers killed in the attack, saying two are Rwandan and one from Senegal. Regarding the wounded soldiers, four are Rwandan and one Gambian. The five are currently being treated in the capital Khartoum.

SLM-MM rebels “infiltrated the camp with six vehicles from the east of Jebel Marra and west of Tabet area twenty kilometers south of El-Fasher, (capital of the state.). They targeted UNAMID patrol so that they can attack the police force to undermine security and stability, (in the region),” said a statement signed by the governor Mohamed Osman Kibir.

The North Darfur governor said the assault aimed to destabilise the implementation of the Doha Darfur Peace Document signed on 14 July with former rebels the Liberation and Equality Movement. Kibir said they expect other attacks in the future and they are prepared to handle it but warned this will not hinder the enforcement of the peace agreement in the region.

The state government reiterated its commitment to arrest the rebels who perpetrated the attack and to bring them to justice. It further announced that a series of measures will be implemented in Zam Zam camp to collect weapons there and better protect civilians.

The rebel group reacted yesterday, hours after the attack on the UNAMID patrol in its former stronghold camp in North Darfur and denied any responsibility in the killing of UNAMID peacekeepers. The group further praised the role of peacekeepers in the protection of civilians.

UN chief Ban Ki-Moon and the UNAMID head Ibrahim Gambari condemned the attack and urged Sudanese government to identify the perpetrators of the attack and bring them to justice.

(ST)