Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, has demanded an investigation after one peacekeeper was killed and three others wounded in an ambush in Sudan’s North Darfur state.
Martin Nesirky, Ban’s spokesman, said on Wednesday that all the victims from the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) had South African nationality.
“The secretary general urges the government of the Sudan to conduct a full investigation and to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice,” a statement from Ban said.
“The secretary general expresses his condolences to the government of the Republic of South Africa, UNAMID and to the family of the fallen peacekeeper.”
A joint statement from the 15 members of the UN Security Council condemned the attack in the strongest terms, and called on the Sudanese authorities “to swiftly investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Wednesday’s ambush occurred while a UNAMID convoy of military, police and civilian personnel was heading to assess the situation following recent reports of violence near the village of Hashaba, the mission said.
Hashaba is in Kutum district, the scene of unrest since early August when a district chief was shot dead during a carjacking attempt.
It was the second deadly ambush this month involving UNAMID peacekeepers.
Four Nigerian UNAMID peacekeepers were killed on October 2 in an attack near El-Geneina, in West Darfur state.
UNAMID has been in Sudan’s far-western Darfur region for more than four years with a mandate to protect civilians in a region where rebel-government clashes, banditry and inter-tribal fighting continues, though violence is less than when rebels began an insurrection nearly a decade ago.
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