AU soldiers killed in Darfur
2007-09-30 16:42
Khartoum - Ten African Union soldiers have been killed and 50 are missing after armed men launched an assault on an AU base in Darfur. It was the worst attack on AU troops since they were deployed in Sudan's violent west in 2004.
Sudan's army and Darfur rebel movements initially blamed
each other for the Saturday night attack on the Haskanita base
in south-eastern Darfur.
But one rebel source said the attack was carried out by
breakaway rebel forces who wanted a seat at peace talks due to
begin in Libya on October 27.
AU spokesperson Noureddine Mezni said: "Reports (indicate) 10 were killed and 50 missing in action and seven seriously injured.
"Our camp is completely destroyed," adding that it was
the heaviest casualties suffered since the AU mission was deployed.
'Attack was by breakaway JEM rebels'
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) spokesperson Ahmed Hussein condemned the attack. "It is not fair that the AU should be attacked in this way," he said.
One rebel source said the attack was by breakaway JEM
rebels trying to get vehicles, weapons and power, and gain an
invitation to talks. He blamed JEM's sacked vice-president Bahr
Idriss Abu Garda and former military chief Abdallah Banda.
Another source said they had been working with Sudan
Liberation Army (SLA) Unity in the area.
An alliance between JEM and SLA Unity faction have become
the largest military threat to Khartoum in recent months.
A SLA Unity commander, Abu Bakr Kadu, denied they were
responsible, but said they had been fighting with government
forces in Haskanita all day on Saturday until sunset.
"Maybe the AU was caught in the middle of the bombardment
during our battles with the government. The government has been
using the AU as cover and they are still inside Haskanita
near the AU base," he said.
The latest violence to threaten Darfur's fragile peace
process came as a group of international "elders" was due in
Sudan later on Sunday to put their hand to resolving the conflict in Darfur and growing tensions in the country's south.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former US President
Jimmy Carter, and peace mediation veteran Lakhdar
Brahimi, accompanied by British businessman Richard Branson,
were due on Sunday in Sudan for the start of a trip that will
take them to Darfur and the southern capital Juba.
International experts estimate about 200 000 people have died in Darfur with 2.5 million driven from their homes.