Sudan rejects int'l peacekeeping forces

Sudan will not allow the deployment on its land of peacekeeping forces from any countries, including those of Africa and Europe, a senior Sudanese official said on Saturday.

Under a new agreement reached between the Sudanese government and the African Union (AU), the AU will dispatch an observer mission to West Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, Interior Minister Abdel Rehim Mohamed Hussein was quoted by local media as saying.

To ensure the safety of the observers, the AU also considered sending some 300 protection troops to Darfur as part of the observer mission, he said.

Earlier reports said the AU had decided to send 2,000 troops with a mandate to protect the observers as well as serve as a peacekeeping force in Darfur.

The AU has not told Sudan of any plan to deploy 2,000 African troops in Darfur and the Sudanese government reserves the right the reject such a plan, Hussein said.

Any AU decision concerning Darfur should be approved by the Sudanese government, otherwise, it will be meaningless, he added.

It is reported that the AU will start sending observers to Darfur next week.

The United States, the Netherlands and some other European and African countries had agreed to contribute troops to the AU-led peacekeeping force in Darfur.

A revolt against the Arab-dominated Sudanese government broke out among indigenous ethnic minorities in Darfur in February 2003.Pro-government Arab militias there are blamed for a wave of killings of indigenous groups.

More than 10,000 people have died in the region and more than a million others have been driven from their homes since then.

Source: Xinhua