In a statement, Ban’s spokesperson said the Secretary-General was “outraged to learn of a deadly attack on peacekeepers […]” and said he expects the Government of Sudan will take swift action to bring the perpetrators to justice.

In a news release, the joint African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said this morning one of its patrols was ambushed and came under heavy fire from a large unidentified group approximately 25 kilometres west of the Mission’s Khor Abeche team site.

Following an extended firefight, the patrol was extracted by UNAMID reinforcements that arrived from the Mission’s Khor Abeche and Manawashi sites.

Seven Tanzanian peacekeepers were killed and 17 military and police personnel, among them two female police advisers, were wounded.

Ban expressed his deepest sympathies to the families of the fallen peacekeepers, the Government of Tanzania and to all UNAMID personnel.

UNAMID Joint Special Representative Mohamed Ibn Chambas also condemned “in the strongest possible terms those responsible for this heinous attack on our peacekeepers,” and added that “the perpetrators should be on notice that they will be pursued for this crime and gross violation of international humanitarian law.”

“Humanitarian workers in Darfur are there to improve the lives of others. They should not have to pay for their noble work with their own blood,” said United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Ali Al-Za’tari, in a statement on the events that occurred in South Darfur.

Al-Za’tari expressed the sadness of the UN System and its partners in Sudan over the killing in Nyala of two Sudanese workers from World Vision International. According to the statement, a third World Vision staff member was also critically injured during the fighting between Government forces and an armed group.

He also expressed the same feelings for the human and material losses that afflicted Nyala and its inhabitants as a result to the “horrific events” it has gone through.

Press reports say that the World Vision staffers were critically injured when fighting erupted in heavily populated areas of Nyala city late last week.

“I insist on all parties to this conflict to respect their obligation to protect humanitarian workers and other civilians. I urge the Sudanese Government to launch an investigation and bring the perpetrators of this murder to justice,” said Al-Za’tari.

While expressing his deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of those killed and injured “by this heinous act,” Mr. Al-Za’tari underscored: “The events which led to the deaths of our World Vision colleagues – a shoot-out in an urban area of Darfur’s most populated city – highlights the continuing unstable security in this region that threatens to disrupt the flow of the much needed humanitarian assistance, destabilize reconciliation efforts and derail progress towards greater economic and social development.”

“If humanitarian work in Darfur is forced to scale back because of the unsafe and insecure conditions for our staff and partners, then many more people in Darfur will suffer,” he said

Al-Za’tari echoed concerns similar to those expressed last week by Hervé Ladsous, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, as he wrapped up a visit to Darfur.

Speaking to reporters on 4 July in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, Mr. Ladsous noted with concern the recent intensification of conflict in Darfur and its impact on the civilian population. “We have witnessed deterioration in the security situation. More people have been displaced—over 300,000 since the beginning of this year—due mostly to tribal clashes,” the head of UN peacekeeping said.

Ladsous called on all parties to cease hostilities and praised the efforts of the joint African Union-United Nations Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), “who serve in very difficult circumstances, to protect civilians, secure the delivery of aid and support the peace process.”

He further stated that on 3 July, three peacekeepers were injured in an ambush on a UNAMID convoy near Labado, East Darfur. “Attacks on peacekeepers are a crime,” he said, adding that in violation of international humanitarian law, a UNAMID ambulance was fired upon by the unidentified armed group that had mounted the ambush.

Condemning the incident and noting the peacekeepers’ robust response to the attack, Mr. Ladsous stressed that the perpetrators of the incident must be apprehended and prosecuted.

“We have witnessed deterioration in the security situation. More people have been displaced—over 300,000 since the beginning of this year—due mostly to tribal clashes,” Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous told journalist in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on 4 July.

Earlier, he had met with President Omar Al-Bashir and other senior officials to discuss the ongoing peace efforts.

Ladsous reiterated the UN’s support for the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur and urged the Government and the non-signatory movements to cease hostilities and “enter into negotiation immediately.”

The Doha accord, or DDPD, negotiated with the support of the Government of Qatar, forms the basis for a permanent ceasefire and comprehensive peace agreement to end the fighting that began in Darfur 10 years ago, pitting Government forces and allied militia against rebel groups.

The Sudanese Government and two major rebel groups have committed to the DDPD. The Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) signed on last year; the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) signed a framework agreement in January 2013.

During a media conference, Ladsous also condemned an attack on the UN near Labado, East Darfur. Three “blue helmets” were injured on 3 July when an unidentified armed group ambushed a joint African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) convoy.

“Attacks on peacekeepers are a crime,” he stressed, noting the peacekeeper’s robust response to the attack and calling for those responsible to be apprehended and prosecuted.

In violation of international humanitarian law, a UNAMID ambulance was also fired upon during the attack.

Ladsous visited the injured peacekeepers this morning at a Mission hospital in Nyala, southern Darfur.

During his three-day visit, Ladsous met with the Governor and other members of local government in El Daein, East Darfur state, as well as leaders of the Native Administration and civil society, and internally displaced people at the Neem camp.

Regarding relations between Sudan and South Sudan, Ladsous called on the Governments of both countries to fully implement the 27 September 2012 Agreements and resolve all disputes through the bilateral mechanisms provided for in these accords.

The agreements – signed in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, under the auspices of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel – includes provisions on security, the common border and economic relations aimed at enabling the two nations to fulfil their obligations under a so-called roadmap for easing tensions, facilitating the resumption of negotiations on post-secession relations and normalizing the relations between the two countries.

In meetings, Ladsous also expressed concern over the security and humanitarian situation in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

The visit to Sudan is part of Ladsous’ wider tour in Africa which included stops in Mali where UN peacekeeping troops known as the African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) have taken over security duties. Ladsous heads next to South Sudan.

“In the early morning hours of 19 April, one peacekeeper of the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) was shot dead and two others injured in an attack by unidentified assailants on the mission’s team site near Muhajeria,” according to a statement from UNAMID.

An estimated 18,000 displaced persons remain concentrated around the Mission’s team sites near the Muhajeria and Labado villages since 6 April, when fighting broke out between the Government forces and the Sudan Liberation Movemenet/Minni Minawi.

The UN has been calling for humanitarian access to assist the groups, who are mostly women and children.

In today’s statement, UNAMID said it was investigating the events surrounding the incident and working in coordination with Government of Sudan to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

The Mission reiterated that “any attack on international peacekeepers is a crime under international law.”

Earlier in the week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke about unrelated attacks on peacekeepers in South Sudan where he recalled “that the killing of peacekeepers is a war crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court,” his spokesperson said.

During his meeting with the Minister of the Interior on Wednesday in Khartoum, the Joint Special Representative of UNAMID, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, also called on the Government to prevent civilian loss of life and property as it reestablishes its control over these areas.

According to UNAMID, an estimated 18,000 displaced persons remain concentrated around the Mission’s team sites near the Muhajeria and Labado villages since 6 April, when fighting broke out between the Government forces and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Minni Minawi.

The fighting has killed at least four civilians and wounded six others. The displaced populations are still waiting for much-needed humanitarian aid, UNAMID said in a statement.

Chambas also thanked the Ministry of the Interior for the good working relationship that exists between his department and UNAMID. In particular, he noted the fruitful cooperation between the UNAMID Police component and the Darfurian police.

On Monday, Chambas as well as the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the Sudan, Ali Al-Za’tari had expressed “serious concern” about the safety and well-being of civilians caught up in fighting, and had called for immediate access to allow humanitarian teams to assess the condition of all affected civilians and in particular women, children and elderly people.

“Our staff tell us that most of the people fleeing Sudan have arrived on foot, donkeys or on carts to save their lives,” UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) spokesperson, Melissa Fleming, told journalists in Geneva.

“Refugees witnessed their houses being destroyed and villages completely burnt down. Many reported their relatives being killed in the latest round of violence,” Fleming noted, adding that people are “exhausted, traumatized and visibly disturbed.”

The number of refugees is expected to increase, Fleming said with more clashes, “Our staff report witnessing thick heavy smoke in the Darfur skies fearing this may be the result of more houses being set on fire in the nearby Darfur villages.”

The groups, the majority of the latest arrivals being women and children, are fleeing fresh tribal clashes in the Sudanese town of Um Dukhun, according to UNHCR. In last two months, clashes have now displaced over 74,000 people into Chad including Sudanese and Chadians – who lived as refugees in the conflict zone.

The first waves of civilians who fled Darfur arrived in March earlier this year to seek safety in the neighbouring town of Tissi in Chad. Among some 24,000 people, records show that 8,000 are Sudanese and 16,000 Chadians.

“They have no water, no food and are sleeping under trees,” Fleming said about Tissi where new refugees arrive daily.

“Among them are people wounded by bullets that are abandoned to their fate and are sleeping on the ground. There is no health centre, or operational clinic with surgical materials in this area,” she added.

The location is some 231 kilometres away from UNHCR’s nearest field office in Koukou Angaranana, which she said was “an eight hours drive with bad road conditions”.

UNHCR said it has deployed teams on the Chad-Sudan border to register and assist the arriving refugees, and to provide basic items, such as blankets.

“Our teams since last Wednesday are busy registering the new arrivals before relocating them to the Goz Amir Camp, in Dar Sila region of Chad,” Fleming said, noting that the camp is nearing capacity.

“UNHCR is working with the Chadian authorities and partners to develop a new refugee camp to accommodate the latest arrivals,” she added.

The UN agency is working with other partners, including the Canadian non-governmental organization ADESK to help evacuate those seriously wounded, and to provide for the immediate needs, which remain shelter, clean drinking water, food and medicine.

The fifth Implementation Follow-up Commission (IFC) wrapped up in Doha, Qatar, on 9 April to review the progress made so far in the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).

“We are on the right track and peace is the solution,” said the Chairperson for the Implementation Follow-up Commission (IFC), Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud, who is also the deputy Prime Minister of the State of Qatar and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs.

On 14 July 2011, the Sudanese Government – which has been fighting rebel groups in Darfur since 2003 – signed the DDPD with the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), and more recently with the Justice and Equality Movement led by Mohamed Bashar (JEM-Bashar).

The agreement focuses on seven areas: human rights; power-sharing; wealth-sharing; justice and reconciliation; compensation of refugees and internally displaced persons; ceasefire and security arrangements; and internal dialogue and consultation.

It is overseen by a follow-up committee that includes Mohamed Ibn Chambas – the head of the joint African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and Joint Chief Mediator for the AU and UN – and representatives of the AU, the Sudanese Government, armed movements, the Qatari Government mediation and other organizations and governments.

The committee meets regularly to review the progress made so far in implementing the DDPD.

During the latest meeting, representatives from more than 15 countries acknowledged the continued cooperation between the Government of Sudan and the LJM, and reaffirmed the international community’s support to the DDPD as the only framework for peace in Darfur.

“The DDPD has greatly contributed to the decline in levels of violence and to bringing security that large parts of Darfur are enjoying today,” said IFC Chairperson Al Mahmoud, speaking to the media after the meeting.

“It is crucial to preserve and build on the various accomplishments made so far to achieve a sustainable peace in the region,” he added.

He called on the hold-out movements to walk in the footsteps of the Justice and Equality Movement-Sudan (JEM-Sudan) and join the peace process on the basis of the DDPD.

The meeting came one day after a pledging conference which organizers had hoped would raise $7.2 billion to cover reconstruction and development of Darfur over a six-year period.

Meanwhile, thousands of civilians are seeking protection, many of them with their livestock, near joint AU-UN peacekeeping teams in Muhajeria and Labado, East Darfur State, after attacks and “possible air strikes” on the towns.

UNAMID has condemned the 6 April attacks. The peacekeeping mission is working with UN agencies to ascertain the best means of supporting aid delivery to the population, particularly the civilians concentrated around the team site.

“The clashes have resulted in the alleged displacement of 60,000 persons and have reportedly claimed the lives of at least 100 persons,” the hybrid mission – known by the acronym UNAMID – said in an update.

The fighting erupted on 5 January in the Jebel Amer area near Kabkabiya, in North Darfur state, and resulted in a number of casualties, looting, the burning of nearby villages, and the displacement of thousands of civilians forced to flee towards towns of Kabkabiya, Saraf Omra and Al Sereif.

Following initial reports of the fighting, UNAMID dispatched a verification team to Jebel Amer. The team was informed that most of the displaced persons are currently living in schools, local council buildings and government buildings.

As part of its efforts to facilitate humanitarian assistance, UNAMID is today transporting by road 75 tons of relief items – including plastic sheets, blankets, jerry cans, mattresses and mosquito nets – to El Sereif and Garrah Azawia.

The peacekeeping operation has also provided escorts to UN World Food Programme (WFP) trucks carrying supplies, which have reached the town of Kutum and are expected to reach the district of Kabkabiya within a few days. In addition, it is actively supporting ongoing mediation and reconciliation efforts.

Established in July 2007, UNAMID has the protection of civilians as its core mandate. In addition, the peacekeeping operation is tasked with facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid and assisting with an inclusive peace process in Darfur, where fighting broke out nine years ago, pitting Government forces and allied militiamen against rebel groups.

Serving with the UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur, known by the acronym UNAMID, the two police personnel – Hasan Al-Mazawdeh and Qasim Al-Sarhan, both Jordanian nationals – had been abducted by unidentified assailants on 20 August last year while on patrol in the town of Kabkabiya, located approximately 140 kilometres west of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.

“Both Mr. Al-Mazawdeh and Mr. Al-Sarhan appear to be unharmed and in good health. They will be flown to Khartoum and back to their home country as soon as possible,” UNAMID said in a news release.

According to the release, the peacekeeping mission’s head, the Secretary-General’s Acting Joint Special Representative, Aichatou Mindaoudou, expressed UNAMID’s thanks to the Government of Sudan, the governor of North Darfur and the Government of Jordan for their “valuable” assistance in obtaining the safe release of the peacekeepers.

In addition, UNAMID is calling on the Government of Sudan to investigate the kidnapping and find those responsible.

In a statement, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the UN chief is “deeply gratified” over the release of the two UN staff members, and commends the efforts of UNAMID and the Governments of Sudan and Jordan in securing their release.

“He underscores the importance of the peacekeeping and humanitarian work in Darfur and calls on the Government to fully investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said.

He added that Secretary-General Ban also reiterates that the “primary responsibility” for the safety and security of all of UNAMID’s peacekeeping personnel and the humanitarian community in Darfur lies with the Sudanese Government.

Established in July 2007, UNAMID has the protection of civilians as its core mandate. In addition, the peacekeeping operation is tasked with other responsibilities, such as facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid and assisting with an inclusive peace process in Darfur, where fighting broke out nine years ago, pitting Government forces and allied militiamen against rebel groups.

In a report, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the outbreak has now affected 17 localities in central, south, west and north Darfur, with 194 cases reported – a significant increase from the 84 initial cases reported at the start of the outbreak.

An estimated 200,000 cases of yellow fever, which is caused by a virus spread by mosquitoes, are recorded worldwide each year, with as many as 30,000 deaths reported, according to WHO. Patients experience jaundice, as well as other symptoms, such as fever and vomiting. There is no specific treatment for the disease and vaccination is the single most important measure for prevention.

In addition to monitoring the disease throughout Darfur, WHO said it is training more than 225 health workers in the region on disease surveillance, case management and infection prevention and control.

The health agency is also working with the Sudanese Ministry of Health to dispatch technical teams to help tame the outbreak by conducting investigations on new cases, meeting with local community leaders to raise awareness of the disease, and provide blood bank supplies as well as protective equipment to affected areas.

The report’s recommendations also include strengthening disease surveillance in eastern Darfur, continuing laboratory testing of patients from newly affected localities, and finalizing a vaccination plan that identifies resources available as well as partners to implement it.