By Andrew Heavens
KHARTOUM, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead two workers for a French aid group in an ambush in the Sudanese region of south Darfur, peacekeepers said on Monday.
The two Sudanese staff from Aide Médicale Internationale were attacked on Saturday evening as they drove in a remote area where fighting has surged between government forces and rebels.
Investigations suggested the gunmen, who rode camels and horses, were bandits, a spokesman for the joint U.N./African Union UNAMID peacekeeping force said.
But the killings took place at a time of growing fears of targeted attacks on foreign aid groups in the war-torn region.
Tensions have mounted in Darfur in the countdown to an expected decision from judges from the International Criminal Court on whether to issue an arrest warrant for Sudan's president on charges he orchestrated war crimes in the region.
Sudan's government has promised to protect U.N. and other development organisations after a decision from the Hague-based ICC. But senior officials have said they might not be able to control individual extremists who say the court is part of a Western conspiracy against Sudan.
The aid workers were attacked on the road to the settlement of Khor Abeche, 80 km (50 miles) north east of the capital of south Darfur Nyala, at dusk, UNAMID spokesman Kemal Saiki said.
He said there were reports 24 gunmen held up and looted a truck on the road earlier and opened fire when the aid workers drove past in a Land Rover.
"On the face of it, it looks like a highway robbery. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time," Saiki said.
Four civilians were also wounded in the shooting.
Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against Sudan's government in 2003, accusing Khartoum of neglecting the development of the region.
In the six years that followed, the conflict has disintegrated into a free-for-all involving bandits, rebel factions, government troops, militias and rival tribes. The U.N. and aid groups have launched the world's largest humanitarian operation to care for millions of civilians caught up in the conflict.
Khartoum mobilised mostly Arab militias to crush the rebellion and denies accusations from Washington and activists that it committed genocide during the counter-insurgency.