SUDAN has backed down in its battle to keep UN forces out, with the Government in Khartoum agreeing after hours of talks to a "hybrid" peacekeeping force. The deal signals the end of UN Security Council resolution 1706, which had authorised a 20,000-strong UN peacekeeping force for the country's troubled western Darfur region. Outgoing UN chief Kofi Annan announced yesterday that Sudan had agreed "in principle" to the deployment of a "hybrid" UN-African Union peacekeeping force in the region. The force could be as large as 27,000 troops, including the existing 7000-strong African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, but no timetable has been laid out for the force to begin work partly because Sudan has some reservations.
In a statement released after hours of discussions with AU, Arab League and African officials at the AU's Addis Ababa headquarters, Mr Annan said the proposed transformation of the current AU mission into one involving the world body had been agreed. "A hybrid operation (phase three) is also agreed in principle, pending clarification of the size of the force," he said. "Appointment of senior officials in the hybrid operation will be discussed between stakeholders."
Phases one and two refer to the build-up of the existing AU force and provision of major UN support to the African mission, which has been criticised for not having the means to stop the escalating violence in Darfur. Phase three is the merging of the AU force, known as AMIS, with a UN mission, although Mr Annan said in his statement that the hybrid force would have to be "predominantly African". He said the UN and AU would call a meeting of all parties yet to sign a May peace deal - mainly two Darfur rebel groups - within two weeks to discuss the matter.