KHARTOUM - An influential member of a rebel group blamed for the deadliest attack on African Union peacekeepers in Darfur condemned the assault and called on Monday for the group's leaders to withdraw from the area.
Eighteen AU soldiers were killed or injured and 40 were missing after a "deliberate and sustained" assault on the Haskanita base in Darfur on Saturday night by armed men in 30 vehicles, who looted and destroyed the base, the AU said.
It was the worst single attack on AU forces since the 7,000-strong mission was deployed in 2004.
Suleiman Jamous, a member of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) Unity faction which is one of two groups accused of the attack, said if his faction was involved it was a local decision, not ordered by the leadership.
"I have asked the leadership of SLA Unity to withdraw all the troops from the area, to where they can be under the direct control of the military command," Jamous said.
"And I have asked them to investigate to find out who, if any, SLA Unity commanders were involved. They have attacked the mediators and I offer my condolences to the families of the AU soldiers," said the elder rebel who is not in Darfur.
SLA Unity and a breakaway faction of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) led by Bahr Idriss Abu Garda have forces in the Haskanita area. Other JEM commanders said Abu Garda and a SLA Unity commander had the stolen AU vehicles.
While AU convoys and individuals have been ambushed -- around 40 killed in the three years prior to the Haskanita attack -- this was the first time an entire base was targeted.
NO PLAN FOR DEFENCE
AU force commander Martin Luther Agwai said the mission was making contingency plans and reassessing security. But he said little more could be done without getting desperately needed additional equipment and troops into Darfur.
"We've come up with contingency plans, we have to improve," said Agwai, who took up his post only a few months ago. "We are reassessing everything and we have learned some lessons."
After a long day evacuating all the bodies, injured and traumatised survivors, Agwai defended the AU force, whose mission was to stem the violence in Darfur.
"People did deployment on the premise that there was an (peace) agreement and they were coming to inspect and act as observers -- there was no planning for people to be able defend themselves," he said.
