UN peacekeepers attacked in Sudan

United Nations, Jan 7 (IANS) United Nations peacekeepers were attacked by unidentified armed men in two separate incidents in Sudan, authorities said.

In the first attack, the Joint United Nations and African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) peacekeepers were targeted in south Darfur in Sudan Tuesday while they were on patrol, Xinhua reported.

There was no injury to any peacekeeper in the attack in the Burumburum area, 11 km northeast of Khor Abeche, said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

The other attack took place in west Darfur, five km southwest of the mission team site in Habilla. The peacekeepers did not sustain any injuries but the attackers seized a water tanker and a vehicle, said Dujarric.

The UNAMID was established by the UN Security Council in 2007 to protect civilians and help ensure humanitarian assistance in Darfur, where fighting between rebel groups and government forces and allied militia has led to the deaths of an estimated 300,000 people and displaced nearly two million over the past 10 years.