UNITED NATIONS, July 15 (UPI) -- A weekend attack on a peacekeeping mission in the troubled Darfur region in Sudan was one of the worst since its deployment, the U.S. government said.
The United States is serving as the rotating president of the U.N. Security Council. It said it condemned a Saturday attack in South Darfur, which left seven Tanzanian members of the African Union-U.N. Hybrid Operation in Darfur dead and 17 other peacekeepers and police injured.
The U.N. Mission to the Security Council said in a statement it was deeply concerned by the attack, one of the most severe since the peacekeeping mission, known by its initials UNAMID, deployed in 2007.
"Any attack or threat of attack on UNAMID is unacceptable," a mission statement published Sunday said.
Two aid workers from World Vision International were killed in early July during fighting in Darfur. The attack coincided with an assassination attempt on Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kushayb. He, along with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, is accused of committing war crimes during the genocide in Darfur early last decade.
British Foreign Minister for Africa Mark Simmonds said Monday he was frustrated with Nigeria's decision to host Bashir for an AU event despite war crimes charges filed against him at the International Criminal Court.
