Darfur peacekeepers fire back at attackers

Khartoum (AFP) - Gunmen who attacked peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur were forced to retreat after a firefight, said Thursday the UNAMID mission which has come under calls to be more aggressive.

The incident happened on Sunday when a patrol of the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur came under fire from unidentified gunmen near Sindy, about halfway between the North Darfur towns of Malha and Mellit.

Peacekeepers "returned fire and engaged the perpetrators, forcing them to retreat," UNAMID said in a statement to AFP.

The peacekeepers were not hurt.

UNAMID did not say which country the peacekeepers were from, but South African blue helmets operate in the Malha area.

"Their reaction was very good," said a source familiar with the incident. "Perhaps it's the beginning of a new more aggressive posture."

Attacks against UNAMID last year killed 16 peacekeepers and resulted in "significant loss of vehicles, weapons and ammunition," a February review of the mission by UN chief Ban Ki-moon said.

The report said "shortfalls in the operational capabilities of several troop and police contingents," were partly to blame for limiting the mission's effectiveness in protecting civilians and aid deliveries in the region, which has suffered 11 years of war.

Ban said access restrictions imposed by Sudanese authorities also restrained UNAMID's effectiveness.

UN agencies wanted peacekeepers to adopt "a more robust posture" when faced with restrictions of movement to crisis-affected areas, he said.

The UN Security Council last month endorsed revised strategic priorities for the mission, including better protection of civilians and improved delivery of humanitarian aid.

"Janjaweed groups," or ethnic Arab militias, almost certainly played a leading role in two of the major fatal attacks against UNAMID last year, a UN panel of experts reported in February.

Sudan's government has said it is impossible that militia close to the regime have attacked peacekeepers.