Peacekeeper killed in Darfur
2009-09-29 12:16
Khartoum - A peacekeeper with the joint United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (Unamid) was killed in an ambush in the western Sudanese region, a senior Unamid official said on Tuesday.
"A convoy of two 4x4s was escorting a minibus carrying two civilian members of the peace mission to El-Geneina at around 19:00 (16:00 GMT) on Monday when a group of six to eight armed men opened fire on them," Kemal Saiki, chief of communications for Unamid said.
Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state, is around 20 kilometres from the border with Chad.
"Three soldiers and policemen of the mission were injured... One of the injured died," he said.
The death brought to 17 the number of peacekeepers killed since Unamid began operations in Darfur in January 2008.
The United Nations says up to 300 000 people have died and 2.7 million fled their homes since ethnic minority rebels in Darfur first rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum in February 2003.
The government says 10 000 people have been killed.