EU condemns Darfur 'war crimes'
2010-06-24 11:26
Brussels - EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton condemned on Wednesday an attack on a UN-AU mission in Sudan which left three Rwandan peacekeepers dead, calling it a "war crime".
"We strongly condemn the attack" on the AU-UN mission in Darfur, which took place on Monday and happened "barely one month after another attack in which two Egyptian peacekeepers lost their lives", Ashton said in a statement.
Monday's deaths brought to 27 the number of Unamid members killed in Darfur since the force - the UN's largest mission with more than 20 000 soldiers and police - was deployed there in January 2008.
"We continue to fully support Unamid and deplore any attack on peacekeeping missions, considered a war crime under International Law," Ashton added, urging the Sudanese authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.
A surge of violence in Darfur cost almost 600 lives in May, the highest monthly death toll since the peacekeepers were deployed, according to Unamid.
Since 2003, Darfur has been the scene of an armed revolt against the Arab-dominated Sudanese government to secure a greater share of resources and power.
The UN says 300 000 people have been killed in the conflict and more than 2.2 million have fled their homes. The Khartoum government puts the death toll at 10 000.
- SAPA
