Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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September 30, 2007

AU Says at Least 10 Peacekeepers Killed in Darfur Attack
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=19AED11:A6F02AD83191E1604F99B76C6BFB4D4A9574F7DCC14957C0 AU spokesman says
killings represent AU's 'heaviest loss of life' in the western
Sudanese region since peacekeepers were deployed in 2004 The African
Union says at least 10 of its soldiers have been killed in an attack
on an A.U. peacekeeping base in Sudan's Darfur region.

An African Union statement Sunday said 50 other people are missing
following a sustained assault on the Haskanita base in southern Darfur
late Saturday. 

An A.U. spokesman, Nourreddine Mezni, says the killings represent the
A.U.'s "heaviest loss of life" in Darfur since the peacekeepers were
deployed in 2004.  He said seven other soldiers were wounded in the
attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but A.U. military
officers are blaming Darfur rebels.

Rebel commanders acknowledge their forces have been fighting Sudanese
government troops near Haskanita in recent days.

A.U. officials condemned the attack, calling it a violation of a
ceasefire agreement signed last year.

That ceasefire, signed by one faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation
Army, has had little effect on stopping the violence in Darfur.

The western Sudanese region has endured more than four years of
fighting between rebel groups, militias, and the Sudanese government. 
The violence has killed an estimated 200,000 people and driven more
than two million others from their homes.

The overwhelmed A.U. peacekeeping force of seven-thousand is due to be
strengthened next year by the arrival of 19,000 more troops and police
operating under joint U.N. and A.U. oversight.

Meanwhile, a group of so-called elders led by South African Archbishop
Desmond Tutu is due to arrive in Sudan Sunday with the goal of
assisting Darfur peace efforts.  The group includes former U.S.
President Jimmy Carter and former U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.

Peace talks between the various rebel groups and the Sudanese
government are scheduled to begin in Tripoli, Libya on October 27.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.




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