Attack on Darfur Peacekeeping Force Condemned

Officials at the United Nations and the African Union have strongly condemned the attack by rebels on an African Union peacekeeping force in western Sudan's Darfur region. The U.N. Security Council may also condemn the attack after a dispute is resolved.

According to a press release issued by the United Nations on Monday, the U.N. Secretary-General and the Special Envoy to Darfur both criticized the attack. The Secretary-General referred to the attack as both "shocking" and "brutal", saying that those who carried it out should be "held fully accountable." Jan Eliasson, the U.N. Special Envoy to Darfur, condemned the attack and called on all involved in the conflict to seriously commit themselves to creating peace.

African Union officials also condemned the attack. The press release indicates that the AU Commission Chairperson called the attack "heinous" and "cowardly", but said that the African Union will continue to work toward reducing the suffering and developing peace for the people of Darfur. The AU Special Envoy to Darfur, Salim Ahmed Salim, also spoke against the attack and called for an end to the conflict.

The attack on the peacekeeping force, which occurred in Haskinita (located in southern Darfur), resulted in a number of deaths and injuries. According to the Reuters news agency, twenty African Union soldiers were killed or injured in the attack and some remain missing. They are from various African countries, including Senegal.

However, the United Nations Security Council has yet to issue a condemnation of the peacekeeping force attack, because of a dispute as to which rebel faction was responsible. The Reuters news story also indicates that Sudan's ambassador to the U.N. accused two rebel groups of being involved, and the U.S. ambassador called for punitive measures to be taken by the U.N. against the rebels.

According to the U.N. press release, over two-hundred thousand people have been killed by the conflict in Darfur since it began about four years ago. The conflict involves fighting between the government troops, a militia allied with them, and rebels opposed to the government. Peace talks are to be held in the Libyan capitol late this month.

Sudan is located in northeastern Africa and borders Libya, Egypt, Chad, and several other countries. The African Union, according to its web site, is made up of all fifty-three nations on the African continent and was formed about eight years ago, in the year 1999.

Sources:
1. United Nations, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24114
2. Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN0134655120071002
3. African Union, http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/memberstates/map.htm
http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/AboutAu/au_in_a_nutshell_en.htm