Sudan Agrees to Allow Un Troops in Darfur

Sudan has agreed in principle to allow the establishment of a joint African Union and UN peacekeeping force in an effort to solve the crisis in Darfur, but has stopped short of setting the number of troops, Kofi Annan said yesterday.

After talks in Ethiopia, it emerged the force could be as large as 17,00 additional UN troops, on top of the existing African Union (AU) peacekeeping force of 7,000.

The UN secretary general had wanted UN peacekeepers to reinforce the AU, and play some role in the command of the joint force, before his mandate ends on December 31. But President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan had so far rejected this, despite western pressure.

More than 200,000 people have died in three years of conflict, and 2 million have fled their homes to camps where violence and sexual assault are common. In recent days, pro-government militia known as janjaweed have increased attacks on villages, killing dozens of people. In one raid, the janjaweed- backed by government troops - forced children into a thatched hut, set it ablaze, and killed parents who tried to rescue the children, the non-Muslim rebels said.

Mr Annan said the increase could be as many as 17,000 soldiers and 3,000 police officers, adding: "The next step is for the UN 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." But Sudan's UN ambassador, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad, said he felt 17,000 was very high, and closer to 12,000 was appropriate.

Diplomats said they were returning to Khartoum to consult with the government over command of the force.