A SOUTH African peacekeeper for the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) Mission in Darfur (Unamid) was killed and three other South Africans wounded in an ambush in Northern Darfur, Sudan on Wednesday.
The ambush is the second widely reported incident of South Africans killed abroad — eight South Africans were killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul last month, allegedly linked to the uproar that followed the release of a short film insulting Islam.
Four Nigerian Unamid peacekeepers were killed in the west of Darfur earlier this month.
The ambush on Wednesday took place 10 kilometres north of Habasha in Northern Darfur. A convoy was en route to Habasha from Kutun to assess the situation in the area after reports of violence, according to a press statement from Unamid.
The UN Security Council has condemned the attack and UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon called for an investigation into the Sudan ambush. Mr Moon’s spokesperson Martin Nesirky expressed condolences to the victim’s family, Unamid and the South African government.
According to Mr Nesirky all the victims of the attack were from South Africa.
Chief mediator and acting joint representative Aichatou Mindaoudou blasted the attack, calling on the Sudanese government to "investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice".
"I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the second criminal attack on our brave peacekeeper(s) in the course of this month, during which we have lost five peacekeepers. These attacks will not shake our resolve to fulfil our mandate and help the poor people of Darfur," said Ms Mindaoudou.
Unamid has over 22,000 international troops and officers providing relief and assistance to displaced locals, including dispatching water in Kutum, North Dafur.
Since Unamid’s deployment in late 2007, 43 peacekeepers have been killed in instances of violence in the area.
With Sapa
