FIDH and SOAT condemn the attack on African Union peacekeepers in Darfur

02/10/2007
Press release
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FIDH and its affiliated organisation in Sudan, SOAT (Sudan Organisation Against Torture), condemn the September 29-30 attack by unidentified men on the African Union Mission in Sudan’s (AMIS) base camp at Haskanita in north Darfur that killed 10 African peacekeepers and left many more injured and missing.

This deplorable attack further underlines the inadequacy of the overstretched and under resourced AU mission in Darfur. The AU mission has come increasingly under attack with the latest incident being the most serious and has not been able, due to its ambiguous mandate, to protect civilians already victims of armed attacks by government forces and groups backed by the government.

The ongoing conflict in Darfur and the proliferation of splinter rebel and armed groups threatens the lives of the AU peacekeepers, puts at further risk the lives of civilians, and leaves the region and its population in complete insecurity and with no real hope for peace.

The latest attack against the AU mission is a clear and unequivocal sign of the urgent need for an immediate and effective deployment of the hybrid AU-UN force [UNAMID] to Darfur if a further deterioration of the security situation is to be avoided.

Our organizations also call for a full, independent and transparent inquiry to be conducted by the AU and the UN, into the killing of the 10 peacekeepers and the disappearance of some 40 other peacekeepers.

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