Three peacekeepers killed in Darfur attack: UN

UNITED NATIONS: Attackers killed three UN peacekeepers patrolling in a refugee camp in the North Darfur area of Sudan, the United Nations said Tuesday.

Six peacekeepers were wounded, three seriously, in the attack Monday night at the Zam Zam camp near the Darfur city of El Fasher, the UN mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said in a statement.

The nationalities of the three dead -- two soldiers and one police advisor -- were not immediately given but all were from African nations.

UNAMID says 33 peackeepers have been killed in Darfur since the force was deployed in 2007 in a bid to halt hostilities between rebels and the Khartoum government. The UN says at least 300,000 people have died since the uprising started in 2003.

Ibrahim Gambari, the UNAMID chief and UN special envoy to Darfur, strongly condemned the attack.

"The UNAMID patrol was a regular nightly patrol of unarmed police advisors and armed military escorts. Their mission was to protect civilians. For that they paid the ultimate sacrifice," he said.

Gambari called on Sudanese authorities to immediately mount a full investigation. "An attack on international peacekeepers is a war crime and we will ensure that justice will be served," he said in the statement.

"This deplorable incident will not deter UNAMID's strong commitment to its mission to protect the people of Darfur." (AFP)