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London: Sudan would be open to more peacekeepers with a beefed up mandate to police Darfur as long as the force remains under African Union (AU) control, Sudan's President Omar Hassan Al Bashir told a British newspaper.
Al Bashir, who has resisted international pressure to allow UN peacekeepers to take over from the AU mission, told the Guardian in an interview that he would allow the European Union or the United Nations to provide logistical support.
Asked if the AU could double its troop strength to 20,000, Al Bashir said: "We have no objection to the AU increasing its troops, strengthening its mandate, or receiving logistical support from the EU, the UN or the Arab League for that matter, but this must of course be done in consultation with the government of national unity."
The United Nations has passed a resolution authorising the world body to send UN troops and police to take over from the AU peacekeeping mission, which has failed to stem the bloodshed.
However Sudan has refused to approve the move, saying that allowing UN troops into the western region bordering Chad would be tantamount to an invasion by Western forces.
Observers said tension between the Sudanese government and the United Nations rose after Khartoum decided last week to expel the international body's top envoy to the country, Jan Pronk, following comments he published on his web site.
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