3 U.N. Peacekeepers Shot and Wounded in Sudan's Darfur
Three peacekeepers have been shot and wounded in Sudan's East Darfur region, the mission said on Tuesday, the second attack this month against Blue Helmets in the same area.
The incident occurred on Monday in the region where, according to the U.N., fighting between two Arab tribes this month killed 190 people.
An "unknown armed group" attacked a patrol of the African Union-U.N. Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) about 36 kilometers (22 miles) northeast of the East Darfur state capital Ed Daein, said Rania Abdulrahman, a UNAMID media officer.
"During the firefight three peacekeepers sustained gunshot wounds," she told Agence France Presse.
Reinforcements from the UNAMID base in Ed Daein "repelled the attackers," while the wounded peacekeepers were taken to Ed Daein for treatment, Abdulrahman added.
On August 12 a UNAMID police patrol was ambushed in Ed Daein but there were no injuries, UNAMID said earlier.
The region surrounding the town was the scene of fighting between the Rezeigat and Maaliya tribes this month.
Last Friday, the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that aid groups "remain deeply concerned about the insecurity in East Darfur.”
UNAMID says inter-ethnic fighting has been largely responsible for an upsurge of violence in Sudan's far-west this year.
Hundreds of people have died in the tribal battles, largely between Arab groups, and hundreds of thousands of others have been displaced.
Thirteen peacekeepers have been killed in hostile action in Darfur since last October.
One of those deaths came in April when "armed men in military uniforms" attacked a UNAMID base in the Muhagiriya area, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reported in July.
Muhagiriya is about 100 kilometers northwest of Monday's attack.
Seven UNAMID troops were killed last month during an ambush north of Nyala, South Darfur's capital. It was the worst-ever attack in the mission's five-year history.
U.N. sources say they are unaware of anyone having been held accountable in Sudan for killing a peacekeeper, despite repeated U.N. calls for perpetrators to be brought to justice.
Non-Arabs in Darfur rose up 10 years ago against what they saw as the domination of Sudan's power and wealth by Arab elites.
In response, government-backed Janjaweed militias shocked the world with atrocities against them.
Although the rebellion continues, analysts say Sudan's crisis-hit regime now has less money for its militias, who are acting outside government control and have been a major contributor to violence in the region this year.
Tribal disputes have been driven by conflicts over resources, including land, water and mineral rights.
Source: Agence France Presse
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