Two Rwandan Peacekeepers Killed in New Darfur

Two more Rwandan peacekeepers have been killed and one injured in Sudan's Darfur region - the second deadly attack on the contingent in two days. The soldiers were distributing water at a camp for the displaced on Saturday as gunmen in civilian clothes approached and opened fire, officials say. On Friday, three Rwandan peacekeepers were killed and two injured in an attack on a convoy. The Rwandans were serving in the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force. Saturday's attack took place at a camp in Shangil Tobaa, 65km (40 miles) south of the regional capital El Fasher, officials said. They did not provide further details. A Unamid spokesman said it was too early to tell if the two attacks were linked. Twenty-two members of the now 18,000-strong Unamid force have died in Darfur in the past two years, with Rwandans accounting for the most victims from a single nation. The BBC's James Copnall in the Sudanese capital Khartoum says the intensity of the fighting in Darfur has declined over the last few years, but the region remains very unstable. Violence flared in the region in 2003 when black African rebel groups took up arms against the Sudanese government in Khartoum, complaining of discrimination and neglect. Pro-government Arab militias then started a campaign of violence, targeting the black African population. Rights groups estimate 300,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in 2003, although Khartoum has put the death toll at about 10,000. About 2.7 million people are thought to have been displaced during the conflict.