UN slams deadly Darfur ambush

2008-07-17 08:33

New York - The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday sharply condemned last week's killing of seven UN-African Union peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region and urged Khartoum to ensure that the perpetrators were promptly brought to justice.

The 15-member council approved a British-drafted, non-binding statement that "condemns in the strongest possible terms" the July 08 attack on a convoy of the joint force known as UNAMID, which left seven dead and 22 wounded in north Darfur.

"This unacceptable act of extreme violence is the largest attack on UNAMID since the transfer of authority from the AU Mission in Sudan on 31 December 2007," said the text, which was read out by Vietnam's UN Ambassador Le Luong Minh, the council chair this month.

The statement said the council was particularly concerned that the attack, conducted with sophisticated weaponry and tactics, "was premeditated, deliberate and intended to inflict casualties".

It welcomed the ongoing UN probe of the attack as well as "the government of Sudan's statement to assist the UN investigation".

The statement urged Khartoum "to do its utmost to ensure that the perpetrators of the attack are swiftly identified and brought to justice", and stressed the council's "determination to take action against those responsible after hearing the outcome of UNAMID's investigation".

Meanwhile, Britain on Wednesday circulated a draft resolution that would extend the mandate of UNAMID, which expires at the end of this month, for another year and reiterate "its readiness to take action against any party that imposes the peace process, humanitarian assistance or the deployment of UNAMID".

- AFP