The Presidency of the European Union most strongly condemns the underhand and unprovoked attack on a group of AMIS soldiers on 1 April at a water point in Umbaro, Darfur, in which five Senegalese soldiers lost their lives. The Presidency offers its sincere condolences to the families of the soldiers.
The incident is the latest in a worrying series of attacks on AMIS forces, following the murder of two Nigerian AMIS soldiers on 5 March and the shooting of an AMIS helicopter on 31 March. Some of these attacks were launched from areas under rebel control. The Presidency of the EU calls on the Cease Fire Commission to fully investigate all attacks on AMIS forces and to hold those responsible to account. In this context the Presidency reiterates its recommendation that the Cease Fire Commission's reports should be transmitted to the Sanctions Committee established under UN Resolution 1591.
The Presidency calls on all parties to the conflict to immediately cease all hostilities, end attacks on the AMIS peace-keeping force and humanitarian organizations, and to open political negotiations.
