Leadership
(Abuja)
Prince Charles Dickson
8 October 2008
A Nigerian soldier serving with the United Nations-backed peacekeeping contingent in Sudan's western region of Darfur was killed when his patrol was ambushed by as many as 60 gunmen, a spokesman for the force said.
The gunmen opened fire yesterday on a convoy of UN-African Union peacekeepers, known as UNAMID, spokesman Kemal Saiki said yesterday in a telephone interview from El Fasher in northern Darfur.
The identity of the attackers is unknown, he said.
"By the time the medivac helicopter arrived, the sergeant had died of his wounds," Saiki said.
"One of the attackers was wounded and captured, and has been handed over to the Sudanese authorities."
At least nine UNAMID soldiers have been killed in Darfur since July. UNAMID has deployed about a third of the 26,000 soldiers and police officers planned for the operation to help halt a five-year conflict that has killed as many as 300,000 people and forced 2.5 million more to flee their homes.
The Darfur conflict started in February 2003 when insurgents, demanding a greater share of Sudan's political power and wealth, attacked forces loyal to the government of President Omar al-Bashir.
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