The United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) have agreed on a highly mobile, robust joint force to help protect civilians and restore security to the Darfur region - but Sudan still holds the key to its deployment.

The 39-page report proposes tripling the number of peacekeepers now in Darfur with an AU-UN "hybrid" force of at least 23,000 soldiers and police allowed to launch pre-emptive attacks to stop violence.

US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the current Security Council president, said he hoped the council will adopt a presidential statement on Friday urging the Sudanese government to cooperate fully in "the expeditious start-up and implementation of the UN-AU hybrid operation".

"Now the ball will be in Sudan's court," Khalilzad said on Thursday.

Sudan's UN Ambassador, Abdelmahmood Abdelhaleem, told reporters Tuesday that his government would study the report when it arrives "and convey our remarks on it as soon as possible. It will not take months."

The four-year conflict between ethnic African rebels and janjaweed militia in the vast western Darfur region has killed hundreds of thousands of Darfurians. A beleaguered, 7,000-strong African Union force has been trying to stop the fighting, and Sudan's President Omar Al-Bashir has stalled implementation of the hybrid force - the last part of a three-phase UN plan to back up the African troops.

Al-Bashir has given a green light to the first two phases, but he has refused to sign off on the hybrid UN-AU force, saying he would only allow a larger African force with technical and logistical support from the UN.

The hybrid force proposed Thursday by the AU and UN envisions highly mobile troops "capable and ready to deter violence, including in a pre-emptive manner", robustly equipped and backed by aerial surveillance and aircraft to move soldiers quickly to address threats to security.

Mobile infantry battalions would provide security at camps for those who have fled their homes and patrol roads and humanitarian supply routes, and around towns and villages, during the day and at night to restore confidence.

Military observers would track the activities of armed militias, monitor compliance with the Darfur Peace Agreement signed in May 2006 by the government and one rebel group, and monitor the volatile border between Sudan, Chad and Central African Republic, where the conflict has spilled over.

The organizations proposed two options for the military force - one with 19,500 troops including 18 infantry battalions and the other with 17,605 troops including 15 infantry battalions.

The larger force has "an optimal balance" of capabilities "and would credibly contribute to a secure environment", the report said, while the smaller force would "critically depend" on day and night rapid reaction forces and readily available aircraft and helicopters.

The police component would include 3,772 officers and about 2,500 policemen whose prime responsibility would be to establish and train community police in the camps and work with the national police in Darfur to meet international standards.

Source: China Daily/agencies