Sudan Agrees to Let UN Go to Darfur to Plan for Peacekeeping
May 25 (Bloomberg) -- Sudan's government has agreed to allow a United Nations team to visit the western region of Darfur to prepare for the possible deployment of peacekeepers from the world body, UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said.
Brahimi announced the agreement after he and UN assistant secretary-general of peacekeeping Hedi Annabi met today with Sudanese President Umar Hassan al-Bashir in Khartoum, the nation's capital. He said the mission would study the needs of the 7,000-person African Union force in Darfur and a ``possible'' transition to a UN peacekeeping force
``In the coming days, the United Nations and the African Union will send a joint assessment mission to Sudan,'' Brahimi told reporters in Khartoum. ``The mission would also undertake an assessment of all the requirements for a possible transition from the AU to the UN.''
Brahimi described the agreement as a ``positive first step.''
The UN Security Council on May 16 gave Sudan a week to let a UN assessment team visit Darfur, to plan for the deployment of as many as 20,000 peacekeepers to replace the African Union force. The UN says the AU force doesn't have the aircraft or the personnel to effectively patrol the Darfur region.
The U.S. and its allies have sought the insertion of a Darfur force later this year to enforce a peace accord between the government and rebels. Such a force must still be approved by Sudan and the Security Council.
The UN calls Darfur the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and the administration of President George W. Bush has accused the Sudanese government of committing genocide in the region.
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