Seven UN peacekeepers killed in ambush

KHARTOUM – Suspected Janjaweed militiamen have ambushed a United Nations convoy in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur, killing seven peacekeepers and wounding more than 20, dealing the deadliest attack to the six-month-old mission.

Armed with heavy weaponry and travelling in 40 vehicles, officials said gunmen ambushed the police and army convoy on Tuesday at Um Hakibah in North Darfur State, southwest of the peacekeeping headquarters in El Fasher. Seven peacekeepers were killed and 22 were wounded, seven critically, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas told reporters in New York.The peacekeeping force known as UNAMID, which is severely under-equipped and under-manned, has suffered a string of attacks since it assumed control from an African Union force in Darfur, gripped by escalating insecurity and banditry.UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who was flying back from the G8 summit in Japan, “condemns in the strongest possible terms this unacceptable act of extreme violence against AU-UN peacekeepers in Darfur,” she said.The African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa also condemned the “criminal attack” but vowed that the ambush would not deter either AU or UN commitment to bringing peace and alleviating civilian suffering in Darfur.Kampala identified one of the dead as a Ugandan police officer.UN officials in Sudan said a Ghanaian was among the dead, and that 17 Rwandan peacekeepers, and others from Ghana, Senegal and South Africa, were among the wounded.Some of the victims are in intensive care.Nampa-AFPSeven peacekeepers were killed and 22 were wounded, seven critically, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas told reporters in New York.The peacekeeping force known as UNAMID, which is severely under-equipped and under-manned, has suffered a string of attacks since it assumed control from an African Union force in Darfur, gripped by escalating insecurity and banditry.UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who was flying back from the G8 summit in Japan, “condemns in the strongest possible terms this unacceptable act of extreme violence against AU-UN peacekeepers in Darfur,” she said.The African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa also condemned the “criminal attack” but vowed that the ambush would not deter either AU or UN commitment to bringing peace and alleviating civilian suffering in Darfur.Kampala identified one of the dead as a Ugandan police officer.UN officials in Sudan said a Ghanaian was among the dead, and that 17 Rwandan peacekeepers, and others from Ghana, Senegal and South Africa, were among the wounded.Some of the victims are in intensive care.Nampa-AFP