UN condemns Darfur attack
2007-10-02 08:40
New York - United Nations Security Council members on Monday condemned the weekend attack that killed 10 peacekeepers in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, but could not agree on language for a formal statement.
Ghana's UN Ambassador Leslie Christian, who chaired the 15-member council this month, said no agreement could be reached on a formal statement on Saturday's attack during Monday's closed-door session and it was decided to continue the discussions on Tuesday.
Christian said: "The recent attack on African Union peacekeepers in Haskanita, South Darfur, was condemned. There was a demand that no effort should be spared so that the perpetrators are brought to justice."
The attack by a large, organised group of heavily armed men who overran southern Darfur's Haskanita camp in 30 vehicles took place on Saturday night, the worst assault on the under-manned AU force since it deployed in July 2004.
Assailants launch attack
The AU said that 21 of the missing were Nigerian, as were seven of the dead. The other dead troops were from Mali, Botswana and Senegal. The AU said eight people were seriously wounded and the death toll might rise.
According to UN officials, South Africa's UN ambassador Dumisani Kumalo said the assailants launched their attack on the base at 19:30, then left and returned at 04:00 to strike again.
Kumalo said: "That's a very cruel terrorist attack. So we wanted very strong language" but he added that other members urged caution until more details were known about who carried out the attack.
Meanwhile, Sudan's UN ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad reiterated his government's strong condemnation of what he called "this terrorist, barbaric attack" and said it was very clear Darfur rebels operating in the area were responsible.
He blamed some members of the Council who "gave mixed signals to the rebels by singling out only the government for criticism."
He added: "That made them (the rebels) intransigent and gave them the impression they can do it and get away with it."
The under-equipped AU force of about 7 000 troops from 26 countries patrolling Darfur, a region the size of France, was due to begin being replaced later this year by a 26 000-strong joint AU-UN force.