Gunmen injure seven peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur

KHARTOUM Feb 16 (Reuters) - Unidentified gunmen opened fire on international peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region on Tuesday, injuring seven, two of them seriously, the force said.

The ambush on an armed police patrol near Nyala, capital of South Darfur, is the latest of a string of attacks on the joint U.N./African Union UNAMID force that have killed 22 peacekeepers since they arrived in Sudan's rebellious West in 2008.

"It was an ambush this afternoon. Two of the seven were critically wounded...This is very serious. We are a peacekeeping mission but we do not have a comprehensive peace to keep," UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni told Reuters.

The attackers took two of the force's vehicles, he added. (Reporting by Andrew Heavens; Editing by Jon Boyle)