Bodies of Darfur peacekeepers flown home

KICUKIRO - Kigali International Airport was on Thursday evening filled with grief-stricken relatives of recently deceased UN/AU peacekeepers in Darfur as their bodies arrived aboard a UN chartered flight. Three Rwandan peacekeepers were killed in an ambush last week. The same plane had on it a fourth body of a police officer who succumbed to natural death recently. Draped in United Nations and African Union flags, the four coffins of the fallen peacekeepers were lifted off a UN aircraft at around 6 p.m. as the crestfallen mourners loudly wept for their loved ones. Senior Military officers were on hand to receive their fallen brothers-in-arms who died in the line of duty. Among them were Defence Minister Gen. James Kabarebe, the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen Charles Kayonga, and Army Chief-of-Staff, Lt. Gen. Caesar Kayizari. The silver-coated coffins held the remains of Sgt. Valence Musabyimana, Cpl. Sadiki Kabango and Pte. Joseph Ntawumenyumunsi, who died when unidentified gunmen attacked them at a site where they were guarding civilian engineers working near the village of Nertiti, in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur. Inspector Gapaya Theodomile, a Rwanda National Police Peacekeeper, died of brain tumour. Speaking at the airport, the assistant commander of the 49 battalion, Maj. John Ndoli, who accompanied the bodies, said that the death of the peacekeepers has not affected the performance and the vibrancy of the force. “It’s a big loss, but restoration of peace sometimes comes with a cost,” said Ndoli. He added that; “each family will be compensated US$50,000.” He narrated how the soldiers were killed saying that they were attacked at 8:00am as they were heading to a construction site. “It was discovered that the attackers wanted to steal the vehicle the peacekeepers were using,” said Maj. Ndoli. “The soldiers were four in number. Three were killed but the driver managed to fight back killing three rebels and seizing one gun.” The fallen peacekeepers will be buried at the Kanombe military cemetery. Ends