Tanzania is working on the possibility of seeking further mandate to enable its troops currently on peace-keeping missions abroad to respond to military attacks and aggression.
Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) spokesman, Lt Col Kapambala Mgawe
Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) spokesman, Lt Col Kapambala Mgawe, said this following reports that seven Tanzanian peacekeepers were killed and 17 others wounded when they came under heavy fire from gunmen in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur Region on Saturday, UN sources in Sudan say this is the worst toll from a single incident since its deployment in 2008.
Lt Col Mgawe said that peace-keeping operations in Darfur were currently guided by Chapter Six of the UN Charter, under which military response is restricted and troops fail to act properly in the event of ambush.
“We will seek audience with the UN on the possibility of switching to Chapter VII to enable our troops respond on the same weight in the case of ambush,” he said. Lt Col Mgawe told a news conference that on Saturday at around 9:00am, a convoy of 36 TPDF soldiers and a police officer, who were escorting military observers was ambushed.
He said the convoy which was moving from Khor Abeche to Nyala in the Darfur Region was attacked by Sudanese rebels about 20km away from the group’s headquarters.
“In the ambush on our troops we lost seven soldiers and 14 others were injured. Those injured included a Tanzanian police officer. There were also soldiers and police officers from other countries who were injured,” he said.
He added that communications were made shortly after the incident and various measures were being taken. “Bodies have been taken to a hospital in Nyara for preservation. Those injured are undergoing treatment,” he said.
Lt Col Mgawe said TPDF was communicating with the bereaved families for burial arrangements. “We are also contacting the UN on all the arrangements related to treatment of soldiers injured in the ambush. A special delegation has been sent to Khartoum and Darfur for talk to authorities over the incident,” he said.
Tanzania had 850 troops in Darfur.
Law and order has collapsed in much of the Darfur Region, where mainly African tribes took up arms in 2003 against the Arab-led government in Khartoum, which they accuse of discriminating against them.
Violence has surged since January, this year, as government forces, rebels and Arab tribes, armed by Khartoum early in the conflict, fight over resources and land. Peacekeepers often get attacked when they try to find out what is happening on the ground.
Reuters reported yesterday that the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was “outraged” by the attack, quoting his press office. “The Secretary-General condemns this heinous attack on UNAMID, the third in three weeks and expects that the government of Sudan will take swift action to bring the perpetrators to justice,” the statement said.
The site of the attack is close to Nyala, Darfur’s biggest city, where competing security forces fought for days last week, looting the main market and offices of aid agencies, witnesses said. Diplomats say more than 16,000 peacekeepers are struggling with equipment problems, poor training of some contingents and the reluctance of some governments like Egypt to send their soldiers into dangerous areas.
The force has no joint command, which hampers coordination and rapid deployment to hot spots. About 300,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in Darfur this year by fighting, according to the United Nations. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and some aides on charges of masterminding war crimes in Darfur.
They deny the charges and refuse to recognise the court. Reports from Darfur are hard to verify as Sudan severely restricts travel by journalists, aid workers and diplomats.
Meanwhile, President Jakaya Kikwete expressed deep shock following reports on the attack and killings of the Tanzanian troops. He sent condolences to the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) and the bereaved families.
The president also wished quick-recovery for 14 peacekeepers who were injured after being ambushed by rebels in the war-torn region of Sudan.
“I don’t have a lot of words to express my deep shock and sadness on the soldiers who died while on a very important mission of United Nations, on keeping peace in an area where thousands of people have been killed by rebels,” Mr Kikwete said in a statement issued by the Directorate of Presidential Communications yesterday.
He went on to add that: “Since the fallen servicemen and women were deployed in Darfur in February, this year and since Tanzania started deploying troops in 2007, they have done a good work and the country is proud of them.”
By ABDULWAKIL SAIBOKO, Tanzania Daily News
