El Fasher (Sudan): A Ugandan policeman serving with the UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan's Darfur region has been found dead riddled with bullets the mission's first personnel member killed on duty.

"Yesterday evening, unfortunately we found one of our police officers dead in his vehicle. We are investigating the circumstances of his death," said Noureddine Mezni, spokesman for the UN-AU Mission in Darfur.

"He was killed on duty. He was found with bullet wounds all over the body."

Mezni said the body was found near the Zamzam market in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur state and the headquarters of UNAMID.

He was the first UNAMID peacekeeper to be killed since the joint force took over from an overstretched AU mission at the beginning of the year.

"We had three natural deaths before," said Mezni.

The UN Security Council authorised the new force in July last year but nearly a year on it still has only a fraction of its planned full complement.

Despite a projected staffing of 26,000 19,500 soldiers and 6,500 policemen the force currently numbers 7,600 military peacekeepers and 1,500 police officers backed up by 1,500 civilian administrators.

"We are supposed to be 26,000 so we are not even up to half of what we are supposed to be," UNAMID force commander Martin Agwai told reporters.

He confirmed that the first extra troops other than the old African Union force an Egyptian and an Ethiopian battalion -- were scheduled to deploy in June, six months after the much-vaunted force went operational.

Source : PTI