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Khartoum: The No 2 US diplomat told Sudanese officials on Friday that the humanitarian situation in the Darfur region was so grave that a United Nations peacekeeping force was urgently needed.
The visit by US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who arrived in Khartoum late on Thursday, is part of the latest international push to persuade President Omar Al Bashir to accept UN peacekeepers for Darfur.
The United States is holding off on imposing sanctions against Sudan to allow time for negotiations with Al Bashir's government on approving a UN force to join the undermanned 7,000 African Union troops currently protecting Darfur civilians.
Under a UN-backed agreement last fall, a hybrid force of 22,000 UN and African Union peacekeepers was to be deployed in Darfur to protect and provide relief for 2.5 million forced from their homes and confined to camps.
Subject of discussion
But Al Bashir has since rejected the deployment of UN troops, saying they would violate Sudan's sovereignty. Many believe he fears the UN force would arrest Sudanese officials suspected of war crimes in Darfur. Sudan has said it will accept a small number of UN security forces as well as equipment to help the AU troops.
"The humanitarian situation in Darfur calls urgently for dispatching such a force. It is important that this be done as soon as possible," Negroponte told reporters after talks with Foreign Minister Lam Akol.
"That is the basic message that I am bringing with me, and this is the subject of discussion with the government of Sudan and other members of the international community," Negroponte said.
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