UN evacuating non-essential personnel from Darfur

Jul 15, 2008, 17:09 GMT

New York - The UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan's Darfur region has begun evacuating 200 non-essential personnel following the killing of seven peacekeepers last week, UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said Tuesday.

The ambush and attack in northern Darfur inflicted the largest death toll on the joint operation being deployed to monitor the peace process in that region. The attack injured another 22 peacekeepers, seven of them seriously.

The order came the same day the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, requested the court at The Hague issue an arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir for alleged involvement in crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Darfur. It was feared the legal process aimed at al- Bashir would trigger military retaliation against the UN-AU force.

The force's strength stood at 9,500 military and civilian personnel, including 7,800 troops and 1,600 police, well below the authorized ceiling of close to 30,000 personnel. The six-month mandate for the force, known as UNAMID, is up for renewal by the UN Security Council at the end of July.

Okabe said personnel being evacuated will leave Sudan, but their final destination was not known.

The evacuation was ordered Monday by the force commander, General Martin Luther Agwai, citing the deterioration of security in Darfur.