US ‘saddened’ about recent UNAMID attack

The American embassy in Khartoum released a press statement expressing it is “saddened” about the recent attack against an UNAMID convoy by an armed militia, on Thursday, 18 October. It stated the United States condemns in the strongest possible terms all attacks on UNAMID personnel, stressing they may constitute war crimes. According to the statement, this is the thirteenth attack on UNAMID peacekeepers since the signing of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD). It called on the Government of Sudan (GoS) and on the Darfur Regional Authority to promptly conduct full and credible investigations into all attacks on the mission and hold the perpetrators accountable. The American government stated it is unacceptable that UNAMID was attacked by a group who prevented it from investigating credible reports of civilians killed during a period of intense fighting in Hashaba between Sudanese government forces and rebel groups, which included the use of aerial bombardments by the GoS. It added UNAMID’s investigation falls under its mandate. As stated on the press release, the US government urged the GoS and all armed actors to allow UNAMID’s access to Hashaba and the rest of Darfur. Lastly, the American government asserted it shares the concerns expressed by UNAMID Acting Joint Representative regarding the alarming development of increasing armed clashes and high civilian casualties in North Darfur. This development, the press statement read, underscores the urgent need for progress on the implementation of the DDPD, particularly the disarmament of armed militia.