Dead Darfur Peacekeepers 'All Ethiopian'

Three peacekeepers shot dead by one of their comrades in Sudan's troubled Darfur region were all Ethiopian, a source familiar with the incident told AFP on Saturday.

The shooter, who subsequently killed himself, was also from the East African country, the source said, asking for anonymity.

"All of them are Ethiopian," said the source.

The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has not released the nationalities of the dead or details of what led to the shooting.

While UNAMID is investigating circumstances surrounding the incident, the source told AFP that the peacekeepers are in a stressful environment, "all the time in a dangerous place and all the time away from families."

In October five peacekeepers died in hostile action.

A South African member of the force was killed during an ambush en route to the Hashaba area of North Darfur, and four Nigerians lost their lives in an attack near El-Geneina, West Darfur.

The attack on the Nigerians was the deadliest in UNAMID history, according to U.N. sources.

The October killings brought to 43 the number of UNAMID troops killed in hostile action in the nearly five-year history of the world's largest peacekeeping mission.

UNAMID has a mandate to protect civilians in Sudan's far-west region, where rebels began an uprising against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government almost a decade ago.