Three UNAMID soldiers, 3 attackers killed in firefight in West Darfur

A militia in West Darfur attacked a group of United Nations peacekeepers in West Darfur this morning, killing three (3) of them. The unknown group of attackers fired on a patrol of the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) as they were returning from a patrol toward their base at Niertete, according to an independent eyewitness report. The source said that he saw around 25 attackers. He accused the attackers of being from the Misseriya tribe. Kemal Saiki, the Mission spokesman, said in an interview that the soldiers from the UNAMID Protection Force Battalion were ensuring the protection of a group of civilian engineers working on a UNAMID team site. Suddenly and without warning, a group of assailants wearing camouflage battle dress directed heavy gunfire at the peacekeepers, he said. UNAMID in a written statement put the number of attackers at "more than 20" and said that the peacekeepers returned fire killing three (3) attackers. One peacekeeper was wounded in action and is currently in critical condition at a hospital in Nyala. The eyewitness suggested that the attackers seized either one or two 4x4 vehicles, though Saiki affirmed that only one was taken.