4 gunmen killed in clash with UN peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur

A UN mission said on Friday that its peacekeepers have repulsed two attacks by unidentified gunmen, leaving four attackers dead and six peacekeepers wounded.

The UN-African Union mission to Darfur (UNAMID) said in a press release that the attacks occured in Kass, 85 km north-west of Nyala, capital of South Darfur state.

Four armed gunmen were killed and six peacekeepers, as well as one assailant were injured, it added.

Abiodun Bashua, UNAMID acting Joint Special Representative for Darfur, condemned the attacks, saying that the UN mission would continue to respond decisively and robustly to any acts of this kind.

He also called on Sundanese government to speedily investigate the incidents and bring the perpetrators to book, noting that "the continuing climate of impunity and failure to prosecute those who attack peacekeepers and humanitarian workers have to end."

On Thursday, Sudan Tribune reported that six people were killed and five others injured from the "Zaghawa Um-Kmelty" tribe in South Darfur by UNAMID peacekeepers.

Sudan Tribune correspondent cited UNAMID patrol soldiers as saying that a group of gunmen tried to steal the vehicle they were riding on, thus forcing the unit to engage them using firepower.

According to the report, the tribesmen claimed that the armed group was going after stolen cattle when they encountered the UNAMID patrol, stressing that it was not their intention to attack the peacekeepers, the report said.

South Darfur State has been witnessing increasing cases of abduction, killing and carjacking which pushed the state authorities to impose a state of emergency since July 2014, namely in the state's capital Nayala. Enditem