SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS SUDANESE ATTACK ON CONVOY OF NEW HYBRID OPERATION

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

At 10 p.m. local time on Monday, 7 January 2008, a clearly marked African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) supplies convoy was attacked by elements of the Sudanese Armed Forces while on its way from Um Baru to Tine in West Darfur.  The convoy was carrying rations for UNAMID personnel in West Darfur.  A civilian Sudanese driver suffered seven gunshot wounds during the incident.

The Secretary-General condemns this attack in the strongest possible terms and stresses that, for the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping Operation to be able to perform its mandated functions, the Government of Sudan has to provide unequivocal guarantees that there will be no recurrence of such activities by its forces.  In this connection, the United Nations is lodging a protest with the Government of Sudan.  This incident underscores the importance of the Government reaffirming its commitment to the deployment of UNAMID and the implementation of Security Council resolution 1769 (2007).

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