Sudan attacks UN peacekeepers
"Elements of Sudanese army" blamed for attack upon Darfur peacekeepers by United Nations
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Tuesday, 08, Jan 2008 08:01
Sudanese troops have opened fire on peacekeepers in Darfur, critically wounding one civilian driver, the United Nations has claimed.
A statement said the UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur (Unamid) was on "high alert" after the incident in western Darfur yesterday.
Previously the UN had only said armed men had attacked the re-supply convoy, but the world body confirmed tonight that "elements of the Sudanese army" were the perpetrators.
Ban Ki-moon condemned the incident in the "strongest possible terms" and said an official protest had been lodged with the Sudanese authorities in Khartoum.
"For the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping operation to be able to perform its mandated functions, the government of Sudan has to provide unequivocal guarantees that there will be no recurrence of such activities by its forces," the UN secretary general said.
"This incident underscores the importance of the government reaffirming its commitment to the deployment of Unamid the implementation of security council resolution 1769."
The civilian Sudanese driver is said to be in a critical condition after being shot. He was part of a convoy carrying rations for personnel in west Darfur, an area synonymous with clashes between rebels and the government.
Unamid said it did not return fire when attacked and confirmed no casualties had been sustained.
The peacekeeping force began its mission in the new year, six months after being approved by the security council, but it is currently one-third of its planned strength.
African Union soldiers make up 7,000 of the 9,000-strong mission, which falls well short of the UN's planned 20,000 peacekeepers and 6,000 police and civilian workers.
Since the current Darfur conflict began in 2003, more than 200,000 people are thought to have been killed and 2.2 million forced to flee their homes.
The UN says Darfur is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, which the overstretched AU mission has struggled to contain.
More than 50 African troops have died since 2003, including 12 who were killed in the razing of the Haskanita base by rebel groups last year.