The body of the French Eufor soldier reported missing last Monday in Sudan, has been found. The Sudanese authorities notified the European forces in Chad.
Sudanese authorities informed the EU representative in Khartoum that a body discovered close to the Chadian looked like that of the french soldier reported missing March 3, said the Eurfor in a communiqué from its headquaters in Paris. Also stating that identification and transportation procedures of his mortal remains were ongoing.
The sergeant of the french unit of the european force, Eufor, in charge of a UN mandated peacekeeping in eastern Chad and the north-east Central African Republic was killed in a crossfire exchange with the Sudanese forces, which also wounded another soldier from the french side. The identities of the two soldiers are still not known.
The men unintentionally penetrated a few metres into Tissi, Darfour, a particularly hostile Sudanese province and border to both Central Africa and Chad, attracting a gun fire exchange.
The Irish general, Patrick Nash, the Eufor commander, on Monday asked Sudanese authorities for assisstance to relocate the french soldier.
The Sudanese authorities confirmed that the exchange was started when white soldiers crossed the border between south east Chad and Darfour. They said the exchange cost two lives, one a sudanese soldier and the other a civilian.
The Eufor commander expressed his regrets, confirming that the vehicle crossed the border unintentionally. He also said that he intends to respect border limits to secure the safety of the Eufor forces. Eufor’s aim is to secure the safety of Sudanese refugees from Darfour, eastern Chad and north eastern part of Central Africa. The Sudan authorities, however, refuse this explanation saying that it was a deliberate move.
The Darfour conflict has so far left about 200,000 dead and over 2million others displaced, according to estimates from international organisations.
