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Four African Union troops, workers killed in Darfur

Posted on: Saturday, 8 October 2005, 16:46 CDT

By Opheera McDoom

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Two African Union peacekeepers and two civilian contractors were killed in an ambush in Sudan's troubled Darfur region on Saturday, the AU's first casualties of the conflict, the acting head of the mission said on Saturday.

"Two of our military were killed and three AU military were wounded, and two civilian personnel were killed," Jean Baptiste Natama, acting head of the AU mission in Sudan told Reuters, adding the ambush took place in South Darfur state.

"We are investigating, but it is serious being the first time our personnel are killed in Sudan," Natama said, adding there were no details on who was behind the attack.

About 6,000 AU troops are deployed to monitor a shaky ceasefire in the region but violence has escalated in recent weeks, prompting the AU last week to voice its harshest public criticism of Darfur rebels and the Sudanese government.

A senior AU official accused all sides of ignoring all deals signed so far and said the government had used disproportionate force targeting civilians in the remote region, where more than 2 million have fled their homes and live in wretched camps.

Sudan's state minister for foreign affairs, Samani Wasiyla, told Reuters he did not know who was responsible for the ambush but that it was definitely not government troops.

"It is unfortunate that there has been casualties," he said. "I want to assure all that the government is committed to seeing that the mission of the African Union forces succeeds."

EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, told reporters in Khartoum on Saturday the government was responsible for protecting AU troops in Darfur. The EU is one of the largest funders of the AU mission in Darfur.

"There is a responsibility also of the government of Sudan to guarantee that the AU has the appropriate protection so that they can produce results in their mission," Solana said after a brief visit to Darfur.

"Their mission is a mission of peace, not of war but of peace."

The ambush of the AU patrol on Saturday happened near Khor Abeche, where Arab militias wiped out a rebel base earlier this year. South Darfur was the scene of a rebel attack on a government garrison last month, which sparked a wave of tit-for-tat violence.

A sixth round of peace talks began last month to try to end the revolt that has killed tens of thousands in Sudan's remote west. Non-Arab rebels accuse the central government of neglect and of monopolizing wealth and power.

Source: REUTERS

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