Second Darfur Attack Kills 2 More UN Peacekeepers

Gunmen killed two U.N. peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region Saturday, one day after three others were killed in the same area.

A spokesman for the peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Kemal Saiki, said two Rwandan peacekeepers were killed at a refugee camp in northern Darfur.

Saiki said the soldiers were distributing water in the Shangil Tobaya settlement when at least one gunman opened fire on them. He said it is unclear who carried out the attack and why.

On Friday, gunmen ambushed peacekeepers in Darfur's northern town of Saraf Omra, killing three Rwandan soldiers.

Saiki said the gunmen targeted a U.N. convoy and suggested the attackers may have been trying to steal their vehicles.

Saturday's killings bring the total number of peacekeepers killed in the region to 22 since January of 2008 when the United Nations and African Union began a joint peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

Large scale fighting has subsided in Darfur, but thefts continue to be a problem along with violence linked to rival tribes and splinter rebel groups.