The Combat Operator

4 UN Peacekeepers Wounded in Darfur Attack

Mar 11, 2009 Uncategorized

Four United Nations peacekeepers were wounded when gunmen attacked their vehicle in Western Darfur. The attack is the first on peacekeepers since the International Criminal Court approved an arrest warrant for Sudan’s president last week.

The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission said the peacekeepers were ambushed by five or six unidentified gunmen on Monday evening while driving near the town of El-Geneina in West Darfur.

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Odierno: No sign Iraqis will ask us to stay

Mar 11, 2009 Iraq, Middle East

By Lara Jakes, Associated Press

BAGHDAD — Despite ongoing violence, the Iraqi government is unlikely to ask American troops to remain in the country beyond a 2011 departure deadline, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq said Tuesday.

But Iraqi leaders must decide whether to waive an approaching end-date - June 30 - and allow combat soldiers stay in urban flashpoints like Mosul where al-Qaida and insurgents continue to threaten security, Gen. Ray Odierno said.

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