Two African Peacekeepers Among Four Slain in Darfur

Two African Union peacekeepers and two civilian contractors were killed in an ambush in Sudan’s Darfur region Saturday, 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, said. 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 that there was no information on who was behind the attack.

Nearly 6,000 AU troops are deployed in Darfur to monitor a shaky cease-fire in the region, where violence has escalated in recent weeks. The AU last week issued its harshest public criticism of Darfur rebels and the Sudanese government. It accused the latter of using disproportionate force against civilians in the region, where more than 2 million have fled their homes and live in wretched camps.

Sudan’s state minister for foreign affairs, Samani Wasila, said he did not know who was responsible for the ambush but denied that it was government troops.

“It is unfortunate that there have been casualties,” he said.