Senegal threatens to withdraw troops from Darfur

from Reuters

KHARTOUM, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade said on Monday he would pull his country's troops out of Darfur if it was determined that African peacekeepers who were killed at the weekend were not equipped to defend themselves.

Twenty AU soldiers were killed or injured and 40 missing after a "deliberate and sustained" assault on the Haskanita base in Darfur on Saturday night by armed men in 30 vehicles, who looted and destroyed the base, the African Union said.

The attack, which is being blamed on rebel factions, was the worst single attack on AU forces since the 7,000-strong mission was deployed to western Sudan in 2004.

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