The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)have found the body of a French soldier who had been reportedly missing following a clash with Sudanese troops in West Darfur on Monday, the official SUNA news agency reported on Wednesday.
The body of the French soldier was found at the Abujaradel area, neighboring Chad, according to SUNA.
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that the Sudanese troops exchanged fire with foreign troops who twice strayed across the border from Chad into west Sudan and killed at least one civilian.
The EU peacekeeping mission in Chad reported one soldier missing after troops "accidentally" strayed into Sudan on Monday.
The army headquarters in Paris said the missing soldier was French, adding that another French soldier who had been with the missing soldier in the same vehicle was recovered.
The Sudanese authorities said they received and welcomed a formal apology from European officials that some peacekeepers in Chad had "accidentally" crossed the remote border and opened fire on Sudanese troops.
"We believe admitting mistakes and apologizing is a step in the right direction and we are ready to cooperate with them in the future," said Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali Sadiq.
The Sudanese government on Tuesday ordered its armed forces to search for the missing French soldier after France appealed to Sudan to help find the soldier.
This is the first fatal casualty suffered by the EU force since it started deploying in late January on a UN-backed mission to protect refugees and civilians in conflict-torn eastern Chad.
The incident has been considered by local analysts as a fresh blow for a planned deployment of the EU peacekeeping force well-known as EUFOR in Chad and the Central Africa, which had been delayed after attacks by Chadian rebels on N'djamena early this year.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article