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Peacekeeper dies in Darfur ambush | Peacekeeper dies in Darfur ambush |
(30 minutes later) | |
A peacekeeper with the joint UN-African Union force in Darfur (Unamid) has been killed in an ambush. | |
"This was not a carjacking gone wrong. This was a cold-blooded ambush. They were waiting for us," Unamid spokesman Kemal Saiki told Reuters news agency. | "This was not a carjacking gone wrong. This was a cold-blooded ambush. They were waiting for us," Unamid spokesman Kemal Saiki told Reuters news agency. |
He said the peacekeepers were returning from patrol when eight armed men opened fire in South Darfur capital Nyala. | |
One injured soldier was pronounced dead after being airlifted to the Unamid base in North Darfur capital El Fasher. | One injured soldier was pronounced dead after being airlifted to the Unamid base in North Darfur capital El Fasher. |
It was the second such attack since the International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on 4 March for alleged war crimes in Darfur. | |
Four peacekeepers were wounded in a shooting near Geneina in western Darfur last week. | Four peacekeepers were wounded in a shooting near Geneina in western Darfur last week. |
Rising tensions | |
The death brings to 14 the number of peacekeepers killed in Darfur since the hybrid mission took over from an African Union force in January 2008. | |
Tensions have risen in Darfur, an area about the size of France, since the ICC indictment against Sudan's leader. | |
On Monday, Sudan said foreign aid groups, who carry out the bulk of humanitarian work in Darfur, would no longer be allowed to work on the ground in a year's time. | |
Khartoum said Sudanese aid agencies would take over. | |
Three foreign aid workers and a Sudanese colleague were released on Saturday, three days after being kidnapped at gunpoint from their compound in Darfur by a gang calling themselves "Bashir's Eagles". | |
Shortly after the ICC indictment was issued, President Bashir ordered 13 foreign aid agencies out of the region. | |
The UN has said those expulsions have put more than one million lives at risk. | |
Some 2.7 million people are receiving aid in Darfur after being forced from their homes. | |
The Unamid force is set to be the world's biggest peacekeeping mission, with 26,000 troops but it currently has just 15,000 - 60% of its intended strength. | |
The UN has said it hopes the mission will reach 80% capacity in the next three months. | The UN has said it hopes the mission will reach 80% capacity in the next three months. |
The UN estimates 300,000 people have died since black African rebels demanding a greater share of resources and power rose up in 2003 against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum. |