Darfur tragedy: How they were attacked

Dar es Salaam. Fresh reports are emerging on the deadly attack on Saturday that claimed the lives of seven Tanzanian soldiers in Darfur, as Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) forms a team of experts to investigate the mystery surrounding the incident.

The slain soldiers, who were part of the UN-Africa Mission in Darfur (Unamid) died on Saturday after gunmen ambushed a convoy comprising Tanzanian peacekeepers. Their 17 colleagues were seriously wounded in the incident described as the deadliest ever single attack on the international force in Sudan.

The unidentified assailants ambushed the convoy of the African Union and the United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur at Khor Abeche in southern Darfur, killing the seven Tanzanian soldiers instantly.

TPDF spokesman, Colonel Kapambala Mgawe, said on Sunday that a team of experts would travel to Khartoum and Darfur for talks with authorities over the attack.

Speaking from Sudan, a police officer who working in Nyala town, Darfur and who preferred anonymity for fear of reprimand told The Citizen yesterday that the attack occurred when the soldiers were on a search for UN vehicles which are said to have been stolen by a rebel group.

“The soldiers were in a normal patrol, but a week ago, unknown assailants attacked members of the army and disappeared with four vehicles without causing any injury,’’ he said, adding:

 “On Saturday our soldiers saw their vehicles parked somewhere, but when they moved to recover them, they were suddenly and viciously attacked.”

He described the incident as the biggest and that the surviving soldiers are engulfed in fear. “It is really traumatising here; I can tell you the rebels are fully armed with sophisticated weapons’’, said the police.

He added that of all the incidents he has witnessed while working as a security man, the one on Saturday was the most vicious.

As of yesterday, the TPDF was yet to reveal the names the fallen Tanzanians. Colonel Mgawe said the army was communicating with the UN in part of the process to bring the soldiers’ remains home. He, however, declined to give names.

“It is too early to divulge the names, but we are all set to receive their bodies which will be transported here by the UN,” he said.

Yesterday, Unamid spokesperson Chris Cycmanick, told The Citizen that plans to bring the bodies to Tanzania were underway and that by the end of the week, they would be in Dar es Salaam.

He promised to give an update tomorrow. “We are in touch with the Tanzanian embassy in Khartoum and probably, on Friday or Saturday, the bodies will be here’’, said Mr Cycmanick.

In another development, Col Mgawe distanced the TPDF with the names that have been circulating in different social sites, saying the army cannot release the identities of the slain soldiers until their families are notified, and that hasn’t happened yet.

Some names have been published and doing the rounds in blogs and other social sites, creating tension in some families whose beloved ones are serving with Darfur’s UN peacekeeping force.

This is not the first time Tanzanian soldiers are dying in Darfur. In August last year three soldiers died when their vehicle got swept by water as they crossed a swollen river.

Meanwhile the European Union has condemned the attack on Unamid soldiers in Darfur. The EU High Representative Catherine Ashton said the attack on the peacekeepers underlines the need to revitalise efforts to achieve a comprehensive and inclusive peace in Darfur and across Sudan.

“The High Representative calls on the Government of Sudan to take rapid action to hold the perpetrators accountable and bring them to justice,” Ms Aston says in the statement.

The envoy said she was deeply concerned about the deteriorating security situation in Darfur.