GHANAIAN COP KILLED IN DAFUR (CENTRE SPREAD)

11/07/08
Story: Mary Mensah
The Police Administration has confirmed the death of General Sergeant Joseph Stanhope Dawson, 39, of the Airport Police Station in Accra during a United Nations (UN) Peace mission in Dafur Sudan.
Sgt Dawson, a native of Elmina in the Central Region, was among seven UN peace keeping personnel who died during an attack on them by Sudanese rebels on June 8, 2008.
Two other Ghanaian Police Officers, DSP Andrews Ekumah Boadu and ASP Yaw Ohene Takyi from the Brong Ahafo and Central Regional Police Commands respectively were among the 22 who sustained severe injuries during the attack.
According to the Administration, information received from the United Nations Department of Peace Keeping Operations (UNDPKO) in New York indicated that 10 UN police personnel, two military observers and two language assistants under escort of 51 Rwandese armed personnel were ambushed by militia men between Gusa Jamat and Wadah in North Darfur.
The incident led to the death of six others which included one Ugandan and four Rwandese while 22 others sustained injuries.
Meanwhile the Secretary-General of the UN, Mr Ban Ki Moon has condemned the attack as an unacceptable act of extreme violence against UN-AU peace keepers and called on the government of Sudan to do its utmost to ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly identified and brought to justice.
Mr Ban also expresses his deepest condolences to the families of the peacekeepers who lost their lives.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has been in force since the beginning of this year trying to end the conflict that has raged in the Western Sudanese region since 2003, pitting rebels against government forces and allied militia, known as the Janjaweed.
An estimated 300,000 people have died either through direct combat or because of disease, malnutrition or reduced life expectancy, over the past five years in Darfur. Some 2.7 million people are now displaced, with many living across the border in eastern Chad.
The Police Administration has meanwhile expressed its condolence to the bereaved family.