Sudan: Senior AU official attacked by gunmen

(SomaliNet) Gunmen on Friday attacked a senior officer with the African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur in western Sudan seriously wounding his driver, the mission said on Sunday.

\"Four unidentified armed men attacked the car of the Ghanaian colonel in El-Fasher in north Darfur, wounding his driver and seizing the vehicle,\" the spokesperson for the 7 000-strong African Union force known as AMIS told reporters.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese government in Khartoum has agreed in principle to a 26 000-strong force of United Nations and AU troops for Darfur, made up mainly of African soldiers and known as UNAMID, to replace the AU soldiers who have been unable to put an end to the bloodshed in Darfur.

Joint UN-AU envoy Rodolphe Adada on Sunday met Yussef Kibr, the governor of north Darfur to raise the question of security for the UNAMID mission.

The AMIS spokesperson said Kibr had said police had recovered the vehicle used in the attack and promised to co-operate in ensuring security for the hybrid force.

Khartoum has agreed in principle to UNAMID, but wrangles over its exact make-up and logistics have held up the deployment.

The conflict in Darfur has left at least 200 000 people dead and displaced more than two million, according to UN figures.

It erupted in February 2003 when ethnic minority rebels rose up against Khartoum to demand an end to the political and economic marginalisation. - Sapa-AFP