KHARTOUM, 3 March 2007 — Armed men attacked the home of an African Union peacekeeper in Darfur’s main town of El-Fasher, causing deep concern over the safety of the 7,000-strong mission in western Sudan, an AU spokesman said yesterday.
“Four unidentified armed men dressed in civilian clothes attacked the residence of an (AU) civilian officer,” Noureddine Mezni said of the assault on Thursday just outside the AU’s main headquarters in El-Fasher town. “They tied him and his guard up and they stole his vehicle and his cellular phone,” he added. The men were not injured. The AU has had 91 vehicles stolen since its mission in western Sudan began in 2004. Numerous attacks on AU personnel in remote areas of Darfur have halted some of the mission’s operations such as patrols.
The attack in El-Fasher, the heart of the operation, is likely to further disable the ill-equipped and cash-strapped force.
The mission has struggled to stem the rape, killing and pillage in Darfur which has killed an estimated 200,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes in four years.
Mezni said the acting head of the AU mission in Khartoum had contacted government officials at the highest level to express deep concern and to attain assurances for the safety of the AU personnel in El-Fasher town.
