Darfur: 3 Ethiopian peacekeepers killed, 4 allegedly abducted

Gunmen in Darfur kill three Ethiopian peacekeepers, a patrol vehicle and might have abducted another four.

A patrol unit of the African Union-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) was attacked on Thursday morning in Darfur, western region of Sudan.

In a statement that confirmed the death of three peacekeepers, UNAMID reported:

“Two military personnel of the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur were killed and one seriously injured on 16 October in Korma, North Darfur, by a group of unidentified armed men. The injured soldier later succumbed to his wounds and died in Khartoum. 

This happened when a patrol of Ethiopian peacekeepers The perpetrators seized a patrol vehicle and fled the scene.”

However, a report from Radio Dabanga – radio station for Darfur –  indicates four more soldiers are abducted. According to the Radio’s account of the incident:

Multiple witnesses reported to Radio Dabanga that four gunmen in a vehicle attacked seven peacekeepers who had parked their vehicle near the Shoba Basic School in the vicinity of the Korma Unamid base, about 50 km west of El Fasher, capital of North Darfur.

“They fired at the peacekeepers, killing two of them instantly,” a teacher of Shoba Basic School told Radio Dabanga. “A third officer was injured, and died later.”

The gunmen then seized the Unamid vehicle and the four other peacekeepers at gunpoint, and left towards an unknown destination.

United Nations’ Secretary-General said “the attack as underscores that attacks on UN peacekeepers are unacceptable and constitute a serious violation of international law”. Similarly, UNAMID’s Acting Joint Special Representative Abidoun Bashua is called on the Government of Sudan to act swiftly in bringing the perpetrators to justice, adding that “an attack on peacekeepers constitutes a war crime is punishable under international criminal law”.

The report of abduction was not confirmed by UN officials, at the writing of this news.

Ethiopian troops constitute a quarter of the 12,000 strong UNAMID force.

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