FIVE PEACE KEEPERS KILLED

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Five peacekeepers from a joint U.N.-African Union force were killed and 17 were missing after their patrol was ambushed in northern Darfur, Sudan's state news agency reported Wednesday.

The SUNA agency quoted an unidentified official from the joint force as saying the peacekeepers were attacked Tuesday by a huge convoy of gunmen riding in 40 sport utility vehicles.
Another 18 peacekeepers were wounded, and ten U.N.-AU vehicles were destroyed, the report said.
Among those killed, three were from Rwanda, one from Ghana and one from Uganda, SUNA said. It did not give details about the gunmen.
The joint United Nations-AU force took over peacekeeping duties in Darfur earlier this year with about 9,000 soldiers and police officers.
It is authorized to have 26,000 members, but has contended with chronic shortages of staff and equipment and less-than-adequate cooperation from the Sudanese government.
The peacekeeping force has been unable to persuade the U.S. and other governments to supply attack and transport helicopters, surveillance aircraft, military engineers and logistical support it needs to safely navigate Sudan's remote western Darfur region.
Last month, four U.N.-AU staffers were assaulted and held at gunpoint in Darfur. One of the staffers was stripped of his belongings, kidnapped briefly and then released by Arab militiamen on horseback, according to a statement from the joint force
The U.N. has warned of rising banditry and insecurity in Darfur.
Attackers killed an Ugandan peacekeeper in May.