International Shia News Agency

PressTV/ Gunmen kill 3 UNAMID peacekeepers in Darfur

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association)- Three United Nations peacekeepers have been killed in an attack in Sudan’s Darfur.

On Thursday, unidentified gunmen launched a deadly attack on United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and killed three Ethiopian soldiers, said the UNAMID spokesman, Ashraf Eissa.

The Ethiopian peacekeepers were patrolling a water hole in Korma, North Darfur when the assault took place, Eissa added.

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the incident, saying “attacks on UN peacekeepers are unacceptable and constitute a serious violation of international law.”

“This [the attack] highlights the exceptionally challenging environments in which today’s peacekeepers operate,” the UN chief added.

He also said that October has been a “bloody” month for the United Nations peacekeeping missions in Africa as 14 peacekeepers have so far lost their lives in the African countries of Mali, Sudan and the Central African Republic.

According to official reports, 61 peacekeepers have been killed since the beginning of UNAMID mission in Darfur in 2007.

Darfur has been the scene of violence since 2003, when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum. There has also been tribal fighting in the region.

The United Nations estimates that more than 300,000 people have died in Darfur since the violence began.

Sudan accuses South Sudan, which seceded from the Republic of Sudan in July 2011, of supporting anti-government rebels operating in the Darfur region and the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

Sudan lost billions of dollars in oil revenues after South Sudan gained independence, taking with it some 75 percent of crude production of the formerly united country.

 

 

Source:PressTV

www.shafaqna.com

 

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