French soldier found by nomads
2008-03-06 17:11
Khartoum - A French peacekeeper in Chad who died after straying into Sudan was found alive but badly hurt by nomads who were unable to help because of the language barrier, the Sudanese army said on Thursday.
When the Arab tribesmen again spotted the soldier in a remote part of war-torn western Darfur, he was dead, and four of them were killed when one of his grenades exploded as they tried to recover his body.
The commando, identified by France as a member of its special forces, was reported missing when at least one vehicle from the EU peacekeeping mission in Chad accidentally crossed into Sudan on Monday.
A deadly exchange of fire followed in which another French soldier was also wounded, but details of the incident are sketchy.
The army initially reported that one Sudanese civilian and a soldier were killed in the clashes. On Thursday, however, a spokesperson said five civilians died and eight people were wounded, including two soldiers.
Language barrier
Arab nomads who roam the remote part of Darfur across the border from Chad first spotted the badly wounded soldier on Monday, but only told the army later they had been unable to help because of the language barrier.
"He was alive and walking, but seriously wounded," Sudanese army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel al-Sawarmi Khalid Saad told AFP.
"They tried to help him but there was a problem with language."
His body was found by nomads on Wednesday about 4km west of the village of Abu Jaradil, Saad said.
"They found him dead and tried to carry his body. That's when the hand grenade exploded, killing four," Saad said. The soldier's remains were flown to Khartoum overnight.
Repatriation ceremony
European diplomats, who have been in close liaison with Sudanese authorities, said preparations were underway to organise a repatriation ceremony on Friday before flying the body to France.
The EUFOR mission in Chad has put a medical-legal team on standby to go identify the remains of the soldier. A European diplomat in Khartoum said the delegation was scheduled to arrive on Thursday.
The Sudanese foreign ministry said the identification process was ongoing and stressed its willingness to cooperate fully with the EU.
He said EUFOR "carries out its mandate in full respect of the sovereignty of the Sudanese border."
Sudan ordered its armed forces to search for the soldier after warning EUFOR it had no mandate to cross into Sudanese territory.
EUFOR has a UN mandate to protect refugees from western Sudan's strife-wracked Darfur region as well as people internally displaced by rebel insurgency in Chad and the northern Central African Republic.
- SAPA