According to the Press Association:

A large force of rebels stormed an African Union peacekeeping base in Darfur killing at least a dozen soldiers and wounding several others in the biggest attack on the mission so far, the AU said.

More than 50 AU peacekeepers and support personnel are missing in action since the attack on the base in northern Darfur.

"This is the heaviest loss of life and the biggest attack on the African Union mission," said AU spokesman Nourredine Mezni.

Officers in the AU force said that a force of 1,000 rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army stormed the AU base in the town of Haskanita just after the sunset fastbreaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

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

Darfur rebels have grown increasingly hostile to the AU peacekeepers saying the force is not neutral and is favouring the government side.

There have been several ambushes of AU forces in the past year on AU force blamed on rebels. 

At what point will the international community fully and robustly commit to providing peacekeepers, whether they be AU, UN, hybrid, or other, with the necessary funding, strategic support, and operational mandate to lead successful peacekeeping missions? How many tragic and unnecessary deaths will it take shift the political will around the globe? One thing we know for sure is that half-hearted peacekeeping efforts will not yield peace or security for the peacekeepers or those they are charged to protect.

For today, our hearts go out to the families of the dead and missing AU peacekeepers and the people of Darfur. Tomorrow, we work for change.