afrol News, 10 July - United Nations and Sudan government have condemned recent attack that killed seven peacekeepers and wounded 22 others on Tuesday in Darfur, in the worst violence UN and African Union joint forces have faced, since they became operational in east African country in January.

Sudan government has today accused rebels of orchestrating the ambush that UN officials initially blamed on suspected state-backed militias.

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

Mr Sadiq added, "It also calls upon UN and international community to do something against leaders of rebel groups who mostly live in Europe."

Officials in joint AU and UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur known as UNAMID had said yesterday that suspected Janjaweed militiamen, who have fought on side of state, were responsible for attack.

According to Mr Sadiq, UNAMID troops arrived at scene several hours after attack and retrieved six of their trucks.

UN says unknown attackers used heavy weapons and engaged UN convoy of soldiers and police in an exchange of fire that lasted more than two hours.

UN Security Council issued strong worded statement condemning attack. Ambassador Le Luong Minh of Vietnam, who holds council presidency this month, read the statement.

"The attack was the most severe on UNAMID since its deployment. Members of council stress that any attack or threat against UNAMID is unacceptable and demand that there be no further attacks," Mr Minh said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who was on his way back from G-8 Summit in Japan, expressed his condemnation through spokeswoman, Michele Montas.

"The Secretary-General condemns in strongest possible terms this unacceptable act of extreme violence against UN-AU peacekeepers in Darfur and calls on government of Sudan to ensure that perpetrators are swiftly identified and brought to justice," said Ms Montas.

UN spokeswoman in Sudan said ambush happened as peacekeepers were returning to their camp after investigating recent killings of two rebels affiliated with Sudan Liberation Army (SLA). Dead peacekeepers are reportedly from Rwanda, Ghana and Uganda.

Nine thousands peacekeepers took over in January from a smaller AU force. UNAMID is mandated to have 26,000 blue helmets, but a lack of equipment and resistance from Sudanese government have hampered deployment.

Darfur has seen five years of conflict between rebels, Sudanese government and government-backed militias. UN says conflict has displaced about 2.5 million people and killed as many as 300,000 others.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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