Two peacekeepers serving with the joint United Nations-African Union force in Darfur (UNAMID) have been injured after they were ambushed on Friday by unidentified gunmen in the west of the troubled Sudanese region. One of the soldiers is in a serious condition in a hospital in Khartoum after sustaining a gunshot wound to the shoulder, according to a press release issued by UNAMID. The other peacekeeper, who was shot in the hand, was taken to a UNAMID hospital in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state, where he is in a stable condition. Saturday's attack – which occurred as peacekeepers escorted two fuel tankers between two camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) near El Geneina – comes just three weeks after an Ethiopian peacekeeper serving with UNAMID was slain by gunmen, also near El Geneina. It also took place on the same day that Ibrahim Gambari, the head of UNAMID, briefed the Security Council in New York on the latest developments in the Sudanese region, which has been beset by fighting and humanitarian suffering since 2003. Gambari called for stepped-up efforts to reach a comprehensive peace deal to end the conflict, which has pitted rebels against Government forces and allied militiamen. “The imperative of peace is now as the people of Darfur have suffered too long and too deeply,” he said. UNAMID, which has been in operation since the start of 2008, said it is investigating Friday's ambush. BM/UN
