Sudan condemns UN Darfur ambush

Sudan on Thursday condemned an attack on United Nations-led peacekeepers in Darfur, accusing rebels of orchestrating the ambush that UN officials initially blamed on suspected state-backed militias.

“The government of Sudan condemns this heinous act and calls on the international community to do whatever necessary to stop such attacks on the peacekeeping forces,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ali al-Sadiq.

“It also calls upon the United Nations and international community to do something against the leaders of the rebel groups who mostly live in Europe,” said Sadiq, reading from a statement.

Officials in the joint African Union and United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur, known as Unamid, said on Wednesday that suspected janjaweed militiamen, who have fought on the side of the state, were responsible for the attack in which seven peacekeepers died.

Sadiq claimed that seven Sudanese, possibly rebels, were killed in the ambush in North Darfur State on Tuesday. The army arrived at the scene several hours after the attack and retrieved six Unamid trucks, the spokesperson said.—AFP