Sudan agrees to let joint peacekeeping force into Darfur

SAVE DARFUR

African, Arab, European and U.N. leaders agreed in principle Thursday to a joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force for Sudan's Darfur region. The force could be as large as 27,000, including the existing 7,000-member AU peacekeeping force in Darfur, but the leaders did not lay out a timetable for the force to begin work partly because Sudan had some reservations. Sudan did not give the plan its unreserved approval because officials at Thursday's meeting needed to consult with their superiors, the country's U.N. ambassador, Abdul Mahmoud Abdelhaleem, said. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the additional personnel could include as many as 17,000 soldiers and 3,000 police officers. A timetable for the expanded force to begin work was not announced partly because Sudan retained some reservations, including the question of who would be in charge. ''The next step is for the U.N. and AU to call a meeting of the non-signatories (of the Darfur Peace Agreement) ... and the government of Sudan. It should take place in the next couple of weeks to resolve outstanding issues by the end of the year,'' Annan told reporters. The agreement was announced at a meeting in Ethiopia that brought together senior officials from the AU, the Arab League, the European Union, Sudan, the United States, China, Russia, Egypt, France and a half-dozen African countries. The expansion of the existing AU force will take place in three phases, said Annan, who had wanted to try to stop the bloodshed in Darfur before he leaves office on Jan. 1.