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Nigerian UN peacekeeper killed in ambush by Darfur gunmen
A Nigerian UN peacekeeper was killed when up to 60 gunmen ambushed a patrol in Sudan's war-torn western region of Darfur, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday. The sergeant died when 40 to 60 gunmen ambushed a patrol from the African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission north of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, at around 5 p.m. on Monday, Kemal Saiki said.

His death brings to 10 the number of UN peacekeepers killed in hostile incidents since the launch of the joint mission on December 31.

"About 75 kilometers north of Nyala, they came into an ambush by unknown armed attackers. They were fired at. They replied," Saiki told AFP by telephone from Darfur. "The attackers withdrew but in this firefight we had one of our peacekeepers wounded. We arranged for him to be evacuated by helicopter but he died before he could be evacuated," added Saiki.

The spokesman said one assailant was wounded, captured and handed over to police but that there was no information on the identity of the attackers or their motivation.

The ambush came on the same day that the new head of UN peacekeeping arrived in Sudan, the biggest country in Africa, for a weeklong tour. Alain Le Roy was on Tuesday due to visit Abyei, the flashpoint town devastated by fighting in May that threatened to re-ignite a North-South civil war that ended with a comprehensive peace agreement in 2005. Le Roy is scheduled to visit Darfur on Thursday.
Posted by: Fred 2008-10-08
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=252137