Posted on 09/30/2007 9:44:17 AM PDT by Republicain
KHARTOUM -- At least 10 African Union (AU) troops have been killed and 50 reported missing from their base in Sudan's western Darfur region, in the bloodiest attack on the peacekeeping force, the AU said Sunday.
"At least 10 soldiers were killed, seven wounded, and dozens are missing," African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) spokesman Noureddine Mezni said of the attack Saturday night on Haskanita base in southern Darfur.
An AU statement said 50 personnel were missing after a "sustained attack by a large-and-organized 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.
AU-UN joint envoy Rodolphe Adada said he was "profoundly shocked and appalled by the outrageous-and-deliberate attack," which came just weeks ahead of peace talks in Tripoli to try to end what Washington has called genocide in Darfur.
"It is staggering to imagine what could possibly have been the intentions of those who perpetrated this wanton-and-unprovoked act," Adada said.
"It is grotesque that such an act should be conceived at a time when all parties should be preparing for the upcoming peace negotiations in Libya."
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 a 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 October 27, in an attempt to broaden a Darfur peace agreement signed by only one rebel faction in May 2006.
"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 to ensure the peace is a lasting-and-sustainable one," he said.
Egypt's foreign minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said that Saturday's attack showed the need to deploy the hybrid force, to which Cairo has offered to contribute 2,500 troops, "as quickly as possible."
The attack came as South African Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu was due in Khartoum, heading a group of statesmen known as The Elders who seek to help peace efforts in Darfur.
The delegation includes Tutu, former United Nations envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, ex-US president Jimmy Carter, and former South African president Nelson Mandela's wife, Graca Machel.
The group is due to meet Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir, as well as opposition politicians, local community leaders, and people displaced from their homes, including in the Darfur town of Fasher.
Conflict in Darfur, combined with the effects of famine, has left at-least-200,000 people dead and 2 million displaced since Khartoum enlisted Janjaweed Arab militia allies to put down an ethnic minority revolt in 2003.
Washington has accused Khartoum of genocide, but the Sudanese authorities strongly deny the accusation, and say only 9,000 people have died.
Some observers have said rebel movements are seeking to consolidate their positions ahead of the peace talks, which some rebel groups have already said they will not attend, insisting first on a ceasefire being put in place.
The UN needs to get off its collective ass and get in there now!!
Anyone surprised is too stupid to help.
First thing peacekeepers need to do is be sure they can whip both sides together. A few old Russian T-10s would be a step in the right direction.
But the UN has fired back, with the only "weapon" it has, a flurry of angry words. That'll teach the dastardly, murderous Muslims in Darfur a lesson they won't soon forget. Yeah, right.
Congressman Billybob
Rebels? Are they rebelling against Muslim control, good guys? Or, are they rebelling against internationalists, could be bad or good guys. Vague journalism is a waste of readers time.
African peace keepers brings up images of soldiers attacking unarmed civilians and raping women and children. I don’t see them engaging in battle with other armed forces. Apparently they don’t see themselves that way either.
Where are Al Sharpton & Jessie Jackson?????????
Assuming they weren't part of the raiding party.
In Jena, the last I heard, looking to line their pockets with some of that green Louisiana gumbo.
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