The acting Force Commander, Lieutenant General Paul Ignace Mella from Tanzania, addresses troops based in Khor Abeche, South Darfur, after Saturday’s ambush that killed seven African Union-United Nations Mission peacekeepers and wounded 17 others.
Dar es Salaam. Four of the 14 Tanzanian soldiers who were wounded in Saturday’s deadly ambush in Darfur, Sudan, are in critical condition.
One of them has been airlifted to Khartoum for specialised treatment and is in intensive care, according to UN-Africa Mission in Darfur (Unamid) spokesperson Chris Cycmanick.
Mr Cycmanick told The Citizen on the phone from Sudan yesterday that the names of the critically ill soldiers would remain undisclosed. “At this time, Unamid cannot release these names, but you can contact your foreign minister to have them if they are that much in need,” he said.
In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) spokesperson Colonel Kapambala Mgawe said the wounded soldiers were recovering in hospital, and confirmed that one had been taken to Khartoum.
“We are concerned about the condition of one of our soldiers, who is in a serious condition in a Khartoum hospital,” Col Mgawe said.
TPDF had by last evening not yet disclosed the names of the seven Tanzanian troops who were killed when gunmen ambushed them near their Unamid base. The names of the 17 wounded soldiers have also not been released.
Col Mgawe said on Sunday that a team of experts would travel to Khartoum and Darfur for talks with Sudan authorities over the attack.
Yesterday, Col Mgawe said preparations to receive the bodies of the slain soldiers from the United Nations were underway, adding that they would be taken to the Lugalo Military Hospital mortuary in Dar es Salaam, ahead of an official sendoff at the Ministry of Defence and National Service headquarters.
The bodies have been ferried to Khartoum from where they would be flown to Dar es Salaam.
The remains will then be transported to their respective home regions for burial after last respects are paid in Dar es Salaam.
Meanwhile, Norway has condemned the attack on United N ations peacekeeping forces in Sudan.
“The attack must be investigated and those responsible brought to justice,” said Norway’s Foreign Affairs minister Espen Barth Eide. source the Citizen
0 comments:
Post a Comment