Sudan blames rebels for ambush

2008-07-11 08:30

Khartoum - Sudan on Thursday condemned a deadly attack on United Nations-led peacekeepers in Darfur, accusing rebels of orchestrating the ambush that UN officials initially blamed on suspected state-backed militias.

"The government of Sudan condemns this heinous act and calls on the international community to do whatever necessary to stop such attacks on the peacekeeping forces," said foreign ministry spokesperson Ali al-Sadiq.

Officials in the African Union and UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur, known as UNAMID, said on Wednesday that suspected Janjaweed militia, who had fought with the state, were behind the attack that killed seven peacekeepers.

"That was initial reaction from the UN before they got the information. It was not correct. The Sudanese Armed Forces who came later on believe this attack was carried out by SLM Unity," Sadiq said.

Dead peacekeepers identified

The Sudan Liberation Movement-Unity (SLM Unity) faction was not immediately available for comment while a UN official said that a full investigation into the attack would have to be completed before apportioning any blame.

The peacekeepers were attacked on Tuesday while returning from probing allegations by the SLA Minni Minnawi faction, which signed a 2006 Darfur peace deal with the government, that two former rebels had been killed.

UN officials in Sudan identified the dead peacekeepers as one Ugandan, one Ghanaian and five Rwandans.

Twenty-two peacekeepers were also wounded, including 17 Rwandans, and others from Ghana, Senegal and South Africa. Some victims were in intensive care.

Sudan urged the UN and international community "to do something against the leaders of the rebel groups who mostly live in Europe", Sadiq said, reading from a statement.

7 Sudanese killed in Darfur

The government said the lack of response from the severely under-equipped and under-manned UN peacekeepers to a string of previous attacks "encouraged the rebels to commit more attacks on the UN".

The head of the Darfur peacekeeping operation, Rodolphe Adada, travelled to Khartoum on Thursday for a series of meetings with UN officials and planned talks with the Sudanese government, a spokesperson said.

UNAMID had suffered a string of attacks since it assumed control from an AU force, but Tuesday's ambush was the deadliest assault to hit the six-month-old mission.

Seven Sudanese, possibly rebels, were also killed in the North Darfur State attack, Sadiq added. The army arrived at the scene several hours after the attack and retrieved six UNAMID trucks, he said.

The government said the attackers travelled in a convoy of 27 pickups and cars, although UN officials put the number at 40 vehicles.

Since UNAMID took over from a small AU force on December 31, only 7 600 troops and 1 500 police had been deployed - barely a third of the projected total of 19 500 soldiers and 6 500 policemen.

- AFP