Security Council Condemns Killing of Darfur Peacekeeper

The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday strongly condemned an attack on peacekeepers in Sudan's troubled Darfur region in which a Bangladeshi police officer was killed.

The attack on Sunday in the South Darfur capital of Nyala came less than two weeks after the Security Council had renewed the mandate of the African Union-UN mission, UNAMID, but also cut its size.

"The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the attack by unidentified armed men" on the UNAMID police center in which the Bangladeshi was killed and another wounded.

The council expressed condolences to the Bangladesh government and called on the Sudan government to "swiftly investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice."

UNAMID says 38 peacekeepers have been killed since the mission was first deployed more than four years ago.

The Darfur conflict erupted in 2003 when rebels from black African tribes rose against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government. The U.N. estimates that at least 300,000 people have died while the government puts the figure at 10,000.

There has been an upsurge in violence in recent months with Sudanese authorities saying criminal gangs are a new threat.