VZCZCXRO8726
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0837 1491311
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 291311Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7375
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0093

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000837 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND SHORTLEY 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO AU CD SU
 
SUBJECT: DEATH OF UN DARFUR PEACEKEEPER 
 
REFTEL: IIR 6890 038407 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  The death of Lieutenant Colonel Ehab Nazih marks 
the first death in Darfur of a United Nations peacekeeper.  There is 
no indication that the death was politically motivated, but the 
incident underscores the increasing banditry and lawlessness on the 
ground. Sudanese government, UNMIS and AMIS officials have committed 
to improving security in the area. (Note: Further reporting provided 
reftel. End note.) END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On Friday May 25 at approximately 11:30 p.m., three young 
males armed with AK-47s entered a residence of EU and UN officers in 
El Fasher. LTC Ehab Nazih, a staff officer working for the Joint 
Logistics Operations Center (JLOC), was shot in the course of the 
robbery. Colonel Thinus Van Staden, chief of staff for the UN 
Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), narrowly missed being shot as he exited 
his room and surprised one of the assailants.  He was able to take 
cover in his room.  The assailants took several hundred dollars in 
cash, a few laptops, cellphones and Thurayas.  Van Staden rendered 
first aid to Nazih, then transported him to the African Union 
Mission to Sudan (AMIS) hospital near the force headquarters, where 
he died about an hour later. 
 
¶3. (U) AMIS and UNMIS soldiers held a ceremony to pay tribute to 
Nazih the following afternoon.  Governor of North Darfur Yousef 
Kibir, African Union Deputy Head of Mission Hassan Gibril and UNMIS 
Coordinator Henry Anyidoho attended.  Nazih's body was then flown to 
Khartoum, where a similar ceremony was held at the airfield before 
it was conveyed to his native Egypt.  The Defense Attache paid 
respects on behalf of Post. 
 
------------------- 
SECURITY OPERATIONS 
------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Approximately sixty Sudanese government police and national 
security personnel screened the neighborhood the day after the 
shooting, looking for suspects.  In a possibly related operation, 
government forces surrounded the residence inhabited by armed 
Sudanese Liberation Army/Minawi (SLA/M) soldiers, and witnesses said 
they heard them demand to search the premises.  The government 
forces did not enter the building, however, and the standoff ended 
peaceably an hour later.  Comment: SLA/Minawi and GoS 
representatives to the Ceasefire Commission denied any standoff, 
claiming that the operation was directed toward another house in the 
vicinity.  End comment. 
 
¶5. (SBU) On May 27, AMIS Deputy Force Commander Ephrem Rurangwa and 
UNMIS Force Commander Jasbir Lidder expressed their grave concerns 
over security to Governor Kibir, who promised to increase patrols in 
the area around AMIS force headquarters. (Note: Lidder also informed 
Kibir that he would delay further deployment of light support 
package personnel until the new UNMIS residential compound in El 
Fasher was completed. End note.) GoS police, AMIS and UN military 
police are cooperating in the investigation.  One suspect has been 
apprehended but no further information is available pending the 
completion of the investigation. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Brigadier General Pierre Roques, Second Vice-Chair of the 
Ceasefire Commission and the European Union observer, told Poloff 
separately that unless AMIS conducted more robust patrols, which 
would require that sixty additional AU soldiers be stationed at the 
force headquarters, he would have no choice but to reduce the EU's 
presence in Darfur. There are currently six EU officers operating in 
the area. 
 
POWERS