Darfur: Ban voices sadness at death of UN-African Union military observer

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced his sadness after a Zambian military observer of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission died in an attack by unidentified armed assailants.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban condemned the deadly attack and said he expected the Government of Sudan to take “swift action” to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The military observer died yesterday after the attack in El Fasher, North Darfur.

“The Secretary-General expresses his deepest sympathies to the families of the fallen peacekeeper, the Government of Zambia and to all UNAMID personnel,” the statement said.

Established by the Security Council in 2007, UNAMID is in charge of, among other tasks, the protection of civilians and contributing to security for humanitarian assistance in Darfur, where fighting between rebel groups and Government forces and allied militia since 2003 has led to the deaths of an estimated 300,000 people and displaced nearly two million.