A senior U.N. envoy, Rodolphe Adada, the African Union-U.N. joint special representative for Darfur, held talks with the provincial leader in North Darfur, Osman Mohamed Yousif Kibir, about security issues concerning the upcoming U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission, the United Nations reported.

Officials say the attack against the African Union Mission in Sudan's military chief of staff near El Fasher, Sudan, was by four unidentified men. "The chief of staff survived the incident but the driver was injured and the vehicle was seized by the gunmen before it was later recovered by Sudanese police," the release said.

Adada and Kibir discussed measures to be put in place to avoid a repeat of such incidents when the U.N. peacekeeping operation takes over duties from AMIS in January.

Kibir "reiterated the readiness of authorities in North Darfur to cooperate with the new mission and to provide all necessary facilities to make the mission a success," the release said.