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KHARTOUM, Sudan · Militiamen on horseback ambushed a truck carrying refugees in western Darfur, killing about 30, and African Union peacekeepers investigating the attack were taken hostage by rioters, the African Union and the United Nations said Sunday.
The United Nations said armed men ambushed the civilian truck transporting medicine and relief items between the towns of El Geneina and Sirba.
The exact number of civilians killed could not be confirmed, but was estimated at around 30 people, said Radhia Achouri, spokeswoman for the U.N. mission in Sudan.
"Some of the passengers were shot by the attackers, and others were burnt to death during the attack," the United Nations said in a separate statement.
African Union spokesman Noureddine Mezni said rioters angry over the deaths were holding captive a helicopter crew and eight peacekeepers sent to investigate. The African Union base in El Geneina was also being attacked, Mezni said, although the identity of the attackers was unknown.
Sudanese police transported the bodies of the victims, all ethnic African refugees from the Erenga tribe, to a refugee camp on the outskirts of El Geneina, and demonstrations erupted around the town, an international aid worker said. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because of restrictions the Sudanese government has placed on aid workers.
A U.N. official in Darfur said rioting and sporadic shooting took place in the town on Sunday.
The airport was closed and all U.N. staff and aid workers were grounded, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes in the Darfur region since fighting erupted in early 2003.
The government is accused of unleashing the janjaweed militia to help counter the ethnic African rebels, and the militia are blamed for the worst atrocities against civilians during the conflict.
Flights to Darfur were canceled Sunday, and authorities have forbidden foreign journalists from entering the area.
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