A United Nations peacekeeper has been shot dead by unknown gunman in Darfur and his car was stolen, according to a spokesman for the UN-African Union Mission (UNAMID) said on Friday.

The officer's name and nationality were not announced, he was killed in front of his house while parking his car on Thursday night in South Darfur capital Nyala.

UNAMID spokesman Kemal Saiki called the attack deliberate and cold-blooded.

Gunmen shot him when he was parking his car, Mr. Saiki said, adding that the car was later found abandoned seven kilometers from Nyala.

Another UNAMID peacekeeper was killed in Nyala when his patrol was ambushed in March.

The latest death brought the number to 15 that UN peacekeepers were killed since the joint force took over from the African Union mission in January 2008.

Sudan