UN Coordinator in Sudan condemns attack on Unamid convoy

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Marta Ruedas, condemns the attack by unknown assailants on an Unamid convoy in North Darfur last week, in which one South African peace keeper was killed and another wounded.

Ruedas expressed her deepest condolences to the family of the peace keeper who was killed while on active duty, and to the Government of South Africa. She wished the wounded soldier a speedy recovery, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in a statement today.

On Wednesday 9 March a Unamid peacekeeper was killed and another wounded in an attack on a relief convoy near Kutum.

The South African soldiers were providing security for a joint convoy made up of 17 vehicles of the World Food Programme, one UNHCR vehicle, and six vehicles belonging to the Darfur Regional Authority, Unamid spokesman Ashraf Eisa told Radio Dabanga.

He reported that unknown gunmen in five Land Cruisers opened fire on the relief convoy en route from Kutum to Kabkabiya on Wednesday evening. In the ensuing firefight, one South African peacekeeper was killed and another was wounded.

According to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), the SANDF member who was fatally shot was Corporal Mxolisi Edward Mnyipika.

The soldier who was shot and wounded was Rifleman Cebo Excellent Gumede. He was still in hospital in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher on Saturday and in a stable condition, SABC News reported on Sunday.