OCTOBER 6 ATTACK ON UNAMID CONVOY

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001507 DEPT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, SE WILLIAMSON, AF/SPG NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU SUBJECT: OCTOBER 6 ATTACK ON UNAMID CONVOY ¶1. (SBU) The UNAMID Public Information Office in El Fasher and the UN Department of Security Services (UNDSS) Khartoum, confirmed that on October 6 at 17:00 local time, a UNAMID joint military police security convoy was ambushed by an undetermined number of armed men while on patrol near the town of Manawashe, approximately 75 kilometers north of Nyala, the capital of Southern Darfur State. The unit was on a regularly scheduled area assessment patrol that starts in Manawashe, runs north to Zam Zam then to Khor Abeche, and then returns back to Menawashi. The attack took place in an area where the unit normally turns from Khor Abeche to Menawashi. The unit consisted of 70 individuals: 53 protection force personnel, two Military observers, 13 UNAMID police officers and two language assistants. ¶3. (SBU) During the attack, the driver of an armored personnel carrier (APC) maneuvered the vehicle between the attackers and the convoy to provide protection and allow the rest of the troops to escape. During the clash, twenty-year-old Vincent Kwari, a Nigerian sergeant from the Nigerian Battalion 2, UNAMID, was accidentally struck and crushed by the UNAMID APC. Kwari was taken to a Nyala hospital where he died at approximately 17:45 local time. Following the attack, the patrol, reinforced by 43 Nyala personnel, returned to the site to secure the area. In the process, the returning patrol captured a wounded attacker. UNAMID will investigate the circumstances and cause of this attack and will increase its patrols in the area. ¶4. (SBU) Sector Commander, Sector South UNAMID Brigadier General Fred Eze also confirmed the attack and gave further details that the UNAMID force had only one APC as the alternate was out of service. With the exception of the single APC, the rest of the Nigerian force fled when ambushed. BG Eze also confirmed the arrest of one of the attackers, 20 year old Muhammad Abdullah Qasim. During subsequent questioning by police in Nyala, Qasim claimed affiliation with a group called "Irada Shabah" led by Ibrahim Muhammad Adam. BG Eze stated that he had never heard of this group and acknowledged the Arabic translation is not clear. ¶5. (SBU) Local newspapers Akhir La Hza and Al Sahafa both reported the story on page one (not as a principal story) but neither mention specifics of how the soldier was killed. Both articles mention the ambush came from 40-60 "armed bandits" one of whom had been arrested. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: As with many recent attacks in Darfur, it is extremely difficult to identify the affiliation of the perpetrators, and in some cases the perpetrators may attempt to disguise their affiliation. In this case it seems the attackers were more than just bandits, but it is not clear if this unknown group of attackers is a rebel group or a militia affiliated with the government. ASQUINO