U.N. 'distressed' by violence in Darfur

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- A U.N. envoy working on peacekeeping operations in Sudan's troubled Darfur region said he was "distressed" by violence targeting his troops.

One peacekeeper was killed and two others were injured when a unit with the U.N.-African Union mission was attacked in Darfur. The attacks bring the number of U.N. peacekeepers killed in Darfur to 34 since the mission went into service four years ago.

"I am deeply distressed by and, in the strongest terms, denounce all violence on our peacekeepers, who work relentlessly to bring security and protection to the people of Darfur," Ibrahim Gambari, head of U.N. peacekeeping mission in Darfur, said in a statement.

Peacekeepers arrested one suspect and handed him over to Sudanese police after a search of the area of this week's attack.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is accused by the International Criminal Court of war crimes for the genocide in Darfur in 2003. Khartoum isn't party to the Rome Statute that created the international court, however.

The attack on the U.N. mission in Darfur follows the July signing of a peace agreement between the Sudanese government and members of the rebel Liberation and Justice Movement.