El Fasher, Sudan - A peacekeeper was killed and three wounded in Sudan's Darfur region Wednesday when they came under fire en route to the Hashaba area, where the United States says more than 70 civilians died from fighting in late September.
It was the second deadly ambush this month of peacekeepers from the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
"One UNAMID peacekeeper died and three others were injured in an ambush" on Wednesday morning, about 10 kilometres (six miles) from Hashaba North in North Darfur, a statement from the mission said.
"UNAMID personnel, who came under a combination of automatic and mortar fire by unidentified assailants, had returned fire."
The ambush occurred while a UNAMID convoy of military, police and civilian personnel was on its way "to assess the situation following recent reports of violence in that area," UNAMID said, without giving the nationality of the victims.
The dead peacekeeper is the 43rd from UNAMID to be killed in hostile action in the nearly five-year history of the mission.
On October 2, four Nigerian peacekeepers were killed in an ambush near El-Geneina in West Darfur.
It was the deadliest attack in UNAMID history, UN sources said.
Sudanese authorities said they detained suspects in the killing of the four, but have given no details.
UN sources have said they were unaware of anybody previously being brought to justice in Sudan for killing a peacekeeper. - Sapa-AFP
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