Armed men ambushed members of the peacekeeping forces of the United Nations and African Union in Darfur, wounding four soldiers. Unknown armed men opened fire on a UNAMID patrol returning to el-Geneina, the location of the largest population in West Darfur, bordering Chad. The wounded soldiers have been transferred to the base of UNAMID in El Fasher in northern Darfur for emergency treatment.
The agency’s spokesman said that this is the first serious incident of violence in the area since an international arrest warrant was issued against Sudanese president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The joint peacekeeping force UNAMID reported that the ambush may be the start of an escalation in attacks against peacekeeping troops. There have also been rumors of car theft and other cases of attempted theft on UNAMID base in western Darfur.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued this month an arrest warrant against Bashir, accusing him of war crimes and crimes against humanity on account of the ethnic cleansing and gross human rights violations that have been happening in Darfur for the last six years. More than 300,000 lives have been lost and nearly 3 million people have been displaced because of the conflict.
Some analysts have noted that the arrest order could lead to more violence in the area since al-Bashir enjoys the loyal support of the Sudanese who reject the ICC arrest order.
Via Yahoo! News
