Gunmen kill UNAMID peacekeeper in Darfur

Gunmen kill UNAMID peacekeeper in Darfur

2011-04-07 03:12:04 GMT+7 (ICT)

DARFUR, SUDAN (BNO NEWS) -- Armed insurgents kidnapped and killed a peacekeeper with the African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) following a firefight in the north of the war-wracked Sudanese region.

The UN mission issued a press release late Tuesday saying that the armed men ambushed a mission patrol and carjacked a vehicle carrying three peacekeepers. The blue helmets returned fire, killing one of the attackers, but they still managed to flee.

Two of the UNAMID soldiers were later released by the gunmen, although both sustained injuries and one is in a serious condition. The vehicle was later recovered and the third peacekeeper was found to have been killed.

UNAMID has more than 17,700 troops – part of over 23,000 military personnel – on the ground in Darfur, where government forces, allied militia and rebels have been fighting since 2003.

Last year, the country held a referendum that resulted in Southern Sudan becoming the world's newest nation. The referendum was the culminating point of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ending two decades of civil war between the North and the South that killed some 2 million people and drove an estimated 4.5 million others from their homes.

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