Darfur Ambush Kills 7 UN Peacekeepers, Wounds 22

7 UN Peacekeepers Killed in Darfur Ambush

The United Nations says seven peacekeepers with the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan's Dafur region have been killed in an ambush.

Officials say another 22 peacekeepers were wounded in the attack Tuesday in northern Darfur.

Sudanese state media say gunmen riding in some 40 vehicles carried out the ambush on the UNAMID convoy. It is unclear who was responsible for the attack.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging the Sudanese government to do its utmost to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

The joint U.N.-AU peacekeeping force took over peacekeeping operations in Darfur earlier this year. The mission now has 9,000 troops out of a projected 26,000.

Darfur has seen five years of conflict between rebels, the Sudanese government and government-backed militias. The United Nations says the conflict has displaced some 2.5 million people and killed up to 300,000 others.

ENDS

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