UN chief demands Darfur killing probe

2012-10-03 22:21

Lieutenant General Patrick Nyamvumba from Rwanda inspects one of the Unamid vehicles that suffered an ambush in which four peacekeepers were killed, in El Geneina, Sudan. (Albert González Farran, UNAMID, AP)

New York - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Wednesday on Sudan to conduct a full investigation into an attack that killed four peacekeepers in Darfur, his spokesperson said.

Martin Nesirky said Ban was "appalled and deeply saddened" by the ambush on Tuesday of a patrol by UN-African Union peacekeepers in El Geneina, West Darfur.

Four Nigerian peacekeepers were killed and eight others were wounded in the attack.

"The secretary general urges the government of the Sudan to conduct a full investigation and to ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice," Nesirky said.

"The secretary general expresses his condolences to the government of Nigeria and to the families of the fallen peacekeepers and Unamid," he said.

The peacekeeping force, which numbers 23 500, has been deployed in Darfur since 2007 to try to put and end to hostilities between rebels and the Sudanese government.

- SAPA