One peacekeeper killed, 3 injured by gunmen in Sudan's Darfur

At least one peacekeeper of the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) was killed and three others injured in an ambush by unknown militants in the restive Sudanese western region of Darfur on Wednesday, the mission said in a statement. It said that the ambush took place on Wednesday morning, approximately 10 km from Hashaba North in northern Darfur. The incident occurred while a UNAMID convoy was on its way to Hashaba North to assess the situation following recent reports of violence in that area. UNAMID personnel, who came under a combination of automatic and mortar fire by unidentified assailants, returned fire, the statement noted. "I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the second criminal attack on our brave peacekeepers in the course of this month, during which we have lost five peacekeepers. These attacks will not shake our resolution to fulfill our mandate and help the people of Darfur," said UN-AU Acting Joint Special Representative and Joint Chief Mediator, Aichatou S. Mindaoudou. "I call on the government of Sudan to investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice," she added. Since the initial deployment of UNAMID on Dec. 31, 2007, 43 peacekeepers have been killed as a result of hostile actions.