Rebels kill Darfur peacekeepers

HASKANITA, Sudan – Rebel forces stormed a small African Union base in northern Darfur and killed at least 10 peacekeepers, leaving behind charred armored vehicles and bombed-out barracks in an unprecedented attack on the beleaguered mission.

More than 30 peacekeepers were still missing by late Sunday, indicating the death toll from the attack could rise significantly.

About 1,000 rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army attacked the base outside the town of Haskanita on Saturday after sunset, when Muslims break their daytime fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, AU officers said Sunday at the scene of the attack. The rebels eventually stormed the base early Sunday, they said.

“We battled for hours, but when we ran out of ammunition, we took refuge in this ditch,” said a Nigerian peacekeeper who would only give his first name, Aboubakar, because he was not authorized to speak to the media. He showed a corner of the camp riddled with bullet marks and mortar holes where the AU troops mounted their resistance.

Some of the surviving peacekeepers appeared shellshocked and said it was difficult to describe the intensity of the onslaught.

The rebels used armored vehicles and rocket-propelled grenades, peacekeepers said.

The AU troops said they initially repelled the assailants. But the rebels eventually overran the camp around 4 a.m., peacekeepers said as they recovered from the fighting.

The Sudanese army routed the rebels early Sunday and the remaining AU peacekeepers were evacuated under the protection of the army. By afternoon, some government troops could be seen plundering goods from the burned-out camp.

Darfur rebels have grown increasingly hostile to the AU peacekeepers, saying the force is not neutral and favors the government side. Several ambushes of AU forces in the past year have been blamed on the rebels.