VZCZCXRO3338
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1507 2841348
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 101348Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2049
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

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