Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Khartoum (Agenzia Fides)- “The attack was perpetrated by some faction not invited to the peace talks at the end of the month in Libya ” Fides was told by a local Church source near to where the AU peacekeepers were killed. Our source asked to remain unnamed for security reasons. A heavily armed group on about 30 vehicles attacked on 29 September the AMIS base Haskanita, southern Darfur. The Africa Union says 10 of its soldiers were killed, most of the Nigerians and about 40 were abducted.
“Civilians were also killed in the crossfire. We are not certain how many” the source told Fides. “The leader of the attackers is also said to have been wounded ”.
“The episode is very serious because it heightens the sense of insecurity in which people live: of peacekeepers are attacked who is safe?” the source said. “Many have moved to southern Sudan considered safer since the peace agreement was reached in 2005. We care for about 5,000 Catholics still living in the area. We collaborate with various international agencies to provide humanitarian assistance for all the people in Darfur. We have schools, medical centres and a special programme to assist women in need ” the source told Fides.
The attack came on the eve of “the mission of the elders”, a group of former heads of state led by former US Jimmy Carter and the South African Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who arrived on 30 September Khartoum to offer to mediate between the Sudanese government and the rebels in Darfur.
The AU mission in Darfur, composed of 7,000 men, will be replaced with an UNO/AU force of 26,000 soldiers and police whose deployment was approved recently by the UN Security Council. Peace talks between the Sudanese government and the rebels in Darfur will open in Tripoli, Libya on 27 October under the aegis of the UNO and African Union. Local observers say in front of the prospect of sitting at the negotiations table the rebels divided.
The crisis in Darfur is connected with other situations in Chad and Central Africa where the EU has decided to send a military mission to watch the borders and guarantee security for refugees, including over 20,00 from Darfur, and the local (see Fides 27 September 2007). (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 1/10/2007 righe 35 parole 484)
