UN peacekeeper shot dead in Darfur

USPA News - A United Nations (UN) peacekeeper was shot dead on Friday in Sudan, officials said. In a statement, the African Union-UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur said it has been working in coordination with the Government of Sudan to find the attackers who killed at least one blue helmet on Friday and to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) peacekeeper was shot dead while two others were injured in an attack by unidentified assailants on the mission`s team site near Muhajeria early Friday morning.

The mission underlined that the attack is considered a war crime under international law. Earlier in the week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke about unrelated attacks on peacekeepers in South Sudan where he recalled "that the killing of peacekeepers is a war crime that falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court," according to his spokesperson. An estimated 18,000 displaced people remain concentrated around the Mission`s team sites near the Muhajeria and Labado villages since April 6, when fighting broke out between the Government forces and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Minni Minawi. Meanwhile, the UN has been calling for humanitarian access to assist the groups, who are mostly women and children.