Darfur rebels attack base, kill 10 peacekeepers

(CNN) -- A group of rebels stormed an African Union peacekeeping base in Sudan's Darfur region, killing 10 personnel from the AU mission and wounding several more, a U.N. spokeswoman said Sunday.

The deadliest attack in the AU's three-year mission happened overnight, injuring at least eight people and leaving some 25 AU peacekeepers missing, said AU spokesman Assane Ba.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms" in a statement Sunday. He urged all parties to "recommit" to a peaceful resolution to the conflict and to prepare for peace talks in Libya in October.

AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Said Djinnit said Sunday that the attack occurred in the Haskanita area of Darfur.

AU officers told The Associated Press the attackers were 1,000 rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army.

Although it was "too early to say who launched the attack," Djinnit said initial indications show the perpetrators were affiliated with one of the many rebel groups that did not sign an AU-brokered peace agreement in May 2006. Watch Djinnit talk about the attacks »

Only one rebel group signed the peace agreement, and it has done little to stop the fighting between government-backed militias and rebel groups, which the United Nations estimates has killed more than 200,000 people and driven about 2 million from their homes in the past four years.

"We are of the strong opinion here that once identified, those responsible for this attack should bear all consequences," Djinnit said. "There must be some political and legal consequences from this deliberate attack."

A senior AU officer told AP, "There is a war going on between the rebels and the government, and the AU is crunched in the middle."

On April 1, five Senegalese AU peacekeepers were killed by unidentified gunmen in Umbaro, in northwestern Darfur near the border with Chad.

A day earlier, a helicopter carrying Brig. Gen. Ephreim Rurangwa, a commander with the African Union Mission in Sudan, and his entourage were "clearly targeted" in a shooting, the AU said.

Five bullet holes were found on the helicopter, but no one was injured in the attack, which the AU called an attempted assassination.

About two months ago the U.N. Security Council authorized a 26,000-member peacekeeping mission in Darfur, more than tripling the AU-led force there.

The "hybrid" force of U.N. and AU troops and police -- which will be under AU command -- is scheduled to take over for the current force by the end of the year, according to the United Nations.

The peacekeeping force, which will be known as UNAMID, will be the world's largest peacekeeping operation, according to the United Nations.

The current AU force of about 7,000 has been unable to stop the violence, and Sudan agreed to allow a bigger peacekeeping force after massive international pressure.

Ban and Sudan's foreign minister have invited Darfur's rebel groups to join peace talks with the Sudanese government on October 27 in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

All About African Union • Darfur • Sudan