AU Condemns Killing of Nigerian Peacekeeper

(PANA)--The chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Jean Ping, on Saturday strongly condemned Thursday’s killing of a Nigerian peacekeeper with the UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

Ping also denounced it as a ‘cowardly and deliberate act’. In a statement made available to the Pan African News Agency (PANA) in New York by the AU observer mission to the UN, Ping stressed the need for all concerned ‘to facilitate the work of UNAMID and to fully cooperate with it in its endeavour to contribute to the restoration of lasting peace, security and stability in Darfur.’ He reiterated the AU’s determination, working closely with the UN and the larger international community, to do whatever it can to continue supporting the peace efforts in Darfur.

PANA learnt that a Nigerian officer, serving with the UN-AU peacekeeping force, died Thursday evening during a carjacking in the strife-torn Sudanese region. The incident took place in Nyala, the capital city of the South Darfur state, where unidentified attackers gunned down the military observer as he was opening the gate of his residence to park a vehicle. The peacekeeper was rushed to a nearby UNAMID medical centre for treatment, but died upon arrival there.

The military observer’s vehicle was later found abandoned about seven kilometres away from Nyala. Also, a Nigerian peacekeeper was shot and killed during an ambush of a UNAMID escort patrol near Nyala on 17 March 2009.

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