UNITED NATIONS -?One UN peacekeeper was killed and three others injured in an ambush in the Sudanese region of Darfur, a UN spokesman told reporters Wednesday. ?

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said the African Union/UN Mission in Darfur, also known as UNAMID, has just informed them that a patrol moving in south Darfur was ambushed at a village.

"The initial reports indicate that three peacekeepers were wounded and one was killed," Martin said at a daily news briefing here, adding "We will provide more details as soon as they are available."

The attack took place on Wednesday afternoon near Shearia town, some 90 kilometers northeast of Nyala, capital of South Darfur.

UNAMID said the peacekeepers returned fire after they were ambushed by unknown gunmen.

It was the second attack in five days against the UN and African Union joint mission in Darfur. Since the beginning of this year, two UNAMID peacekeepers have been killed and eight others injured, reports said.

UNAMID said the peacekeepers were shot near the town of el-Dein on Friday when their bus came under attack just outside the unit's base camp in East Darfur state in Sudan.

Darfur has been in turmoil since 2003, when ethnic African rebels who accused the Arab-dominated Sudanese government of discrimination took up arms against Khartoum.

A total of 35 peacekeepers have been killed in Darfur since UNAMID was deployed in 2007 to protect civilians in Darfur.

UNAMID was established on July 31, 2007 with the adoption of Security Council resolution. UNAMID has the protection of civilians as its core mandate, but is also tasked with contributing to security for humanitarian assistance, monitoring and verifying implementation of agreements, assisting an inclusive political process, contributing to the promotion of human rights and the rule of law.

Its mandate also includes monitoring and reporting on the situation along the Sudanese borders with Chad and the Central African Republic.