Egypt welcomed on Friday the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council's Thursday decision to extend the mandate of its troops deployed in Sudan's western region of Darfur for another six months.

The AU council made the decision in a meeting in the Nigerian capital of Abuja Thursday as the already-extended mission is to end on Dec. 31, which also agreed that the AU force commander would be jointly appointed by the head of the AU Commission and the UN secretary general.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit hailed in a press statement that the AU council decision reflects the union's keenness on achieving peace and stability in the continent.

Earlier on Nov. 16, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that Sudan had agreed "in principle" to the deployment of a "hybrid" UN- AU peacekeeping force in Darfur. Thursday's AU decision was the first indication of what Khartoum might be prepared to accept in practical terms.

Talking on the "hybrid" UN-AU force, Abul Gheit made it clear that it should be a force from African countries, unless those countries were unable to come up with the required number.

This "hybrid" force will act like a meeting point, taking into consideration the Sudanese, African and international stances, he added.

In September, the AU Peace and Security Council had agreed to extend the mandate of its forces in Darfur to the end of this year with the helps to be provided by the UN and the international society.

Source: Xinhua