KHARTOUM: At least 10 African Union peacekeepers have been killed and dozens are reported missing after an attack on their base in Sudan s western Darfur region, the AU said on Sunday.
At least 10 soldiers were killed, seven wounded and dozens are missing, African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) spokesman Noureddine Mezni told AFP of the attack on Saturday night on the Haskanita base in southern Darfur.
The head of mission Rodolfe Adada is deeply shocked by this attack, the bloodiest against African forces since they were deployed in Darfur, more than three years ago, Mezni said.
Mezni declined to speculate on who carried out the attack or elaborate on the nationalities of those killed, saying a statement would be released later in the day.
The under-equipped African Union force of around 7,000 troops from 26 countries patrolling Darfur, a region the size of France, is due to begin being replaced later this year by a hybrid 26,000-strong AU-UN force.
Five Senegalese AU peacekeepers were killed in an attack in April.
A statement from the AU s Ceasefire Commission said that AU troops responded to the attack and that the exact number of casualties on both sides is yet to be confirmed .
Such irresponsible attacks constitute a serious violation to the ceasefire agreement, Commission Chairman General Martin Luther Agwai said.
Rebel groups, who indulge in such random violence and bloodshed, undermine their own credibility on any negotiation table.
Agwai said it was regrettable that the attack happened just weeks before peace talks are due to be held in Tripoli on October 27 in an attempt to broaden a Darfur peace agreement signed in May 2006.
Despite the casualties and loss of life, we will persevere in our efforts to keep the fragile peace on the ground while all eyes are set on the negotiation table to ensure the peace is a lasting and sustainable one, he said.
Last month, Al-Qaeda number two Ayman Al-Zawahiri vowed to attack the new force, repeating his call for jihad, or holy war, in Darfur against the crusaders of the UN.
Conflict in Darfur, combined with the effects of famine, has left at least 200,000 people dead and two million displaced since Khartoum enlisted Janjaweed Arab militia allies to put down an ethnic minority revolt in 2003.
Washington has accused Khartoum of genocide but the Sudanese authorities strongly deny the accusation and say only 9,000 people have died.
Some observers have said rebel movements are seeking to consolidate their positions ahead of the peace talks, which some rebel groups have already said they will not attend, insisting first on a ceasefire being implemented. Agence France-Presse
