UNAMID PR / 007-2010

PRESS RELEASE

El Fasher, 17 February 2010 – Seven Formed Police Unit (FPU) peacekeepers with the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) were wounded yesterday in an ambush outside of Nyala, South Darfur.

The Pakistani peacekeepers, part of a five-vehicle UNAMID police convoy, came under heavy gunfire at approximately 14:20 hours near Sakali, an area located 2km from the El-Sherif camp for internally displaced people (IDP) and 17km south of Nyala.

The police officers were returning to their base in Nyala, following a confidence building patrol in the vicinity of the IDP camp, when several unknown assailants armed with AK-47 assault rifles and laying in wait, suddenly opened fire on the convoy. Seven members of the FPU were injured while returning fire and two vehicles were stolen.
Six of the wounded officers, three of which are in serious condition, were immediately evacuated to the Mission’s hospital in Nyala and another was airlifted in critical condition to Khartoum.

UNAMID Joint Special Representative (JSR) Ibrahim Gambari, who today paid a visit to the wounded officers at the Nyala Hospital, expressed his outrage at the wanton act of violence. Praising the courage of the peacekeepers, the JSR stated that UNAMID would be undeterred. “Any attack on peacekeepers is tantamount to a war crime. Those responsible must be brought to justice. Our mission will continue to carry out its mandate – to bring peace and security to the people of Darfur,” he said.

The Mission strongly condemns these cowardly acts of violence against its peacekeepers, and calls on all parties to ensure the safety of UNAMID personnel in the region.

The last attack on UNAMID peacekeepers occurred in December 2009, when two separate incidents resulted in the death of five Rwandan troops and three injured in North Darfur. Since the deployment of the Mission, 22 peacekeepers (19 military personnel and three police officers) have lost their lives as a result of hostile actions.