UN Council Can't Agree on Darfur Protest
By Edith M. Lederer
October 2, 2007
Associated Press
Original Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iiP4wkHSaahk_oQkZbcLsX8_Ej7AD8S0RB4O0
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council on Monday failed to agree on a formal condemnation of a surprise attack that killed 10 peacekeepers in Darfur with an envoy saying members disagree on whether to call it a terrorist act by rebels.
Ghana's U.N. Ambassador Leslie Christian, the current council president, said members will meet again on Tuesday to work on a presidential statement — which becomes part of the official council record.
He told reporters in a brief press statement — which does not become part of the council's official record — that members condemn the attack, deplore the 10 deaths and injuries to 14 peacekeepers, and want the perpetrators identified and brought to justice.
The reason we couldn't come to an agreement, said South Africa's U.N. Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, was because most of us feel that this was a terrorist act and every report says it was done by rebels, but some council members argued that they wanted to wait for the results of an investigation to find out what happened.
The rebels first attacked the AU peacekeepers' camp at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and then returned at 4 a.m., Sunday, overruning it.
Sudan's U.N. Ambassador Abdelmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamed said the AU has already named some elements of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement and Sudan Liberation Movement who had been very visible in the area as the perpetrators of the attack.
But U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the AU is still not able to say which group is responsible at this point.
The U.N. Security Council has approved a 26,000-strong AU-U.N. force to replace the 6,000 AU troops who are ill-equipped and have gone for months without being paid.