Two Rwandan peacekeepers from the joint African Union-United Nations mission in Darfur ( UNAMID) were killed on Friday by unidentified gunmen, a UN spokesperson said.

Marie Okabe told reporters at the UN Headquarters that the two peacekeepers were killed and others wounded in an attack while collecting water at Saraf Umra in North Darfur.

The attack, which occurred in Saraf Umra in North Darfur, brought to 17 the number of UNAMID armed personnel killed in a hostile confrontation since the mission deployed at the start of 2008.

UNAMID is evacuating the dead and wounded to El Fasher, the North Darfur capital, Okabe said, adding that reports are preliminary at this time.