Unidentified gunmen kill UN peacekeeper in South Darfur

Unidentified gunmen kill UN peacekeeper in South Darfur

2012-03-01 06:45:08 GMT+7 (ICT)

NYALA, Sudan (BNO NEWS) -- A peacekeeper was killed on Wednesday afternoon when unidentified gunmen ambushed a United Nations (UN) patrol in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said. Several others were injured.

A mission spokesperson said the attack happened at around 4 p.m. local time when gunmen attacked a UNAMID patrol near Shearia, a small town about 90 kilometers (55.9 miles) northeast of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. The peacekeepers returned fire.

As a result of the attack, one peacekeeper was killed while three others were injured, but their conditions or nationalities were not immediately released. "When further information is available, it will be communicated," a UNAMID spokesperson said.

Wednesday's deadly attack comes after two peacekeepers were injured on Friday when a group of unidentified gunmen opened fire on an UNAMID bus near the town of El Dein in East Darfur state. The police officers were part of a formed police unit and were taken to UNAMID's hospital in South Darfur.

More than 23,000 troops, military observers and police officers and nearly 4,500 civilians serve with UNAMID, which assumed peacekeeping duties from an earlier African Union mission at the start of 2008. A total of 36 UNAMID blue helmets have been killed in the line of duty while serving in Darfur.

The UNAMID force is tasked with protecting civilians, promoting an inclusive peace process and help ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance across Darfur, an arid region on Sudan's western flank. Fighting and large-scale displacement has convulsed the region since 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Government, whose military forces responded with the support of allied militiamen.

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