The slain soldiers, who were part of the UN-Africa
Mission in Darfur (Unamid) died on Saturday after gunmen ambushed a
convoy comprising Tanzanian peacekeepers. Their 17 colleagues were
seriously wounded in the incident described as the deadliest ever single
attack on the international force in Sudan.
The unidentified assailants ambushed the convoy of
the African Union and the United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur at
Khor Abeche in southern Darfur, killing the seven Tanzanian soldiers
instantly.
TPDF spokesman, Colonel Kapambala Mgawe, said on
Sunday that a team of experts would travel to Khartoum and Darfur for
talks with authorities over the attack.
Speaking from Sudan, a police officer who working in Nyala town, Darfur and who preferred anonymity for fear of reprimand told The Citizen
yesterday that the attack occurred when the soldiers were on a search
for UN vehicles which are said to have been stolen by a rebel group.
“The soldiers were in a normal patrol, but a week
ago, unknown assailants attacked members of the army and disappeared
with four vehicles without causing any injury,’’ he said, adding:
“On Saturday our soldiers saw their vehicles
parked somewhere, but when they moved to recover them, they were
suddenly and viciously attacked.”
He described the incident as the biggest and that
the surviving soldiers are engulfed in fear. “It is really traumatising
here; I can tell you the rebels are fully armed with sophisticated
weapons’’, said the police.
He added that of all the incidents he has witnessed while working as a security man, the one on Saturday was the most vicious.
As of yesterday, the TPDF was yet to reveal the
names the fallen Tanzanians. Colonel Mgawe said the army was
communicating with the UN in part of the process to bring the soldiers’
remains home. He, however, declined to give names.
“It is too early to divulge the names, but we are
all set to receive their bodies which will be transported here by the
UN,” he said.
Yesterday, Unamid spokesperson Chris Cycmanick,
told The Citizen that plans to bring the bodies to Tanzania were
underway and that by the end of the week, they would be in Dar es
Salaam.
He promised to give an update tomorrow. “We are in touch with
the Tanzanian embassy in Khartoum and probably, on Friday or Saturday,
the bodies will be here’’, said Mr Cycmanick.
In another development, Col Mgawe distanced the
TPDF with the names that have been circulating in different social
sites, saying the army cannot release the identities of the slain
soldiers until their families are notified, and that hasn’t happened
yet.
Some names have been published and doing the
rounds in blogs and other social sites, creating tension in some
families whose beloved ones are serving with Darfur’s UN peacekeeping
force.
This is not the first time Tanzanian soldiers are
dying in Darfur. In August last year three soldiers died when their
vehicle got swept by water as they crossed a swollen river.
Meanwhile the European Union has condemned the
attack on Unamid soldiers in Darfur. The EU High Representative
Catherine Ashton said the attack on the peacekeepers underlines the need
to revitalise efforts to achieve a comprehensive and inclusive peace in
Darfur and across Sudan.
“The High Representative calls on the Government
of Sudan to take rapid action to hold the perpetrators accountable and
bring them to justice,” Ms Aston says in the statement.
The envoy said she was deeply concerned about the deteriorating security situation in Darfur.
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