UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday condemned in the strongest possible terms a recent attack in Haskanita, South Darfur of Sudan, during which some 10 African Union (AU) peacekeepers were killed.

Citing AU reports saying that some personnel of the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) have also been wounded and many are missing following Saturday's "shocking and brutal assault," Ban called for those responsible to be brought to justice for the "outrageous" act.

Ban offered his condolences to the families of those killed, and called on "all parties to recommit as a matter of the highest priority to a peaceful resolution to the conflict as the government and rebel movements prepare for peace talks in Libya on Oct. 27 and the AU and United Nations prepare to deploy a joint peace operation in Darfur."

The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) also decried the incident, which it termed as "unprovoked and barbaric" by an armed group.

"UNMIS is shocked at the unprecedented scale of the attack," it said in a statement issued Sunday.

The mission, which also reiterated that attacks on AMIS constituted a serious violation of international law and relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the AU, urged "all concerned to assist in identifying the perpetrators so that they could be held accountable without delay."

(Xinhua News Agency October 1, 2007)