UN peacekeepers ambushed in Darfur barely a week after launching mission

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Heavily armed gunmen ambushed a United Nations convoy in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, severely wounding a driver, in the first attack against the peacekeepers since their mission began this month, the UN said Tuesday. The UN road convoy was attacked late Monday in a volatile area near Sudan's border with Chad. A Sudanese contracting driver was hit by several bullets and was in critical condition, the UN mission, known as UNAMID, said in a statement. A fuel tanker truck was destroyed by the assailants, and an armored personnel carrier was damaged, the UN said. Peacekeepers said they did not return fire and that no UN staff was injured. The ambush occurred after night fall between the West Darfur towns of Tine and Kulbus, an area where both Darfur and Chadian rebels - as well as the Sudanese army - are suspected of operating.