Unamid peacekeeper killed, three injured in Kabkabiya, North Darfur

A Unamid peacekeeper was killed, and three others were injured this morning in Kabkabiya, while attending a mediation meeting between two disputing tribes, Unamid reported in a press release issued on Saturday. Following altercations between Fur tribesmen from El Salam village and Arab militiamen from El Hara village, a Unamid team attended mediation meeting in an attempt to ease the tension. The Arab militia elements became hostile towards the Unamid peacekeepers, and started shooting at them, at which point the peacekeepers returned fire. As a result of the ensuing fighting, four Rwandan peacekeepers were injured. One of them died from his wounds. The other three, one of them in critical condition, are receiving treatment at the Unamid hospital in Kabkabiya. The fighting left an unconfirmed number of casualties among the assailants. The head of Unamid, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, is deeply saddened by the death and injuries. “I condemn this heinous criminal act in the strongest possible terms,” he said. “Our peacekeepers were trying to mediate the dispute in good faith, and regrettably their efforts went unappreciated. They paid the ultimate price with courage and dedication while discharging their noble duty; trying to bring peace to Darfur,” Ibn Chambas reflected. The Unamid head strongly called on the Sudanese government to “act decisively and swiftly” in bringing the perpetrators to justice. “This crime is utterly unjustifiable and amounts to a crime against humanity for which those responsible must be brought to account,” he stressed. This incident brings the number of peacekeepers losing their lives in hostile action in Darfur to 58 since the inception of the Mission in December 2007.     File photo: Unamid peacekeepers in Darfur (Unamid) Related: Two UN peacekeepers killed in ‘cowardly attack’ on South Darfur convoy (30 December 2013) Unamid peacekeeper slain in North Darfur attack (25 November 2013) Four Unamid peacekeepers die, one injured in separate Darfur attacks (13 October 2013) ‘Tanzanian peacekeepers killed by Sudan government militia’: witnesses (17 July 2013) Seven Unamid peacekeepers killed, 17 injured in South Darfur ambush (13 July 2013) Update: One UN peacekeeper killed, two injured in shelling of Kadugli, South Kordofan (16 June 2013) UNAMID Peacekeeper killed in attack on Muhajeriya Team Site, East Darfur (19 April 2013)