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Sudan Top Envoy Considers UN Forces in Darfur
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1244486:3919ACA Sudan has
previously taken hard-line position against UN force in Darfur





African Union troops listen to the concerns of villagers in the
village of Brikatouly in South Darfur, SudanThe Sudan government's top
negotiator to the Abuja peace talks says a proposed U.N. peacekeeping
force in Darfur is not out of the question.  Sudan has previously
taken a hard-line position, refusing to accept a U.N. force in the
war-torn region, despite intense international pressure.

Head of the Sudan government delegation to the Abuja peace talks,
Majzoub El Khalifa, says Sudan is considering allowing U.N.
peacekeepers into Darfur.

Sudan has long insisted it will not accept a U.N. force in the region,
charging the presence of U.N. peacekeepers will undermine Sudan's
sovereignty.

On Tuesday, the Security Council voted unanimously to give Sudan a
one-week deadline to accept a U.N. military assessment team into
Darfur to plan for U.N. troops to be deployed in the region.

Mazjoub El Khalifa says Secretary-General Kofi Annan will send a
high-level negotiating team to Sudan within the next 48 hours to
discuss the entry of the U.N. assessment team.

"We are going to see the result," he said.  "As long as they open the
window for negotiation, we are going to continue and go through the
negotiation.  We hope that the result will be a win-win approach, for
the sake of the people of Sudan.  We are part and parcel of the
international community.  If something [does] not go beyond our red
lines, we are going to accept it shortly.  The cardinal point is the
dialogue and the discussion and the consultation with the government
of Sudan. If it is on the line with the government of Sudan then
everything will go smoothly.  If it is against the will of Sudan then
we are going to react accordingly."

Khalifa said Sudan wants input on the size and mandate of the proposed
U.N. mission.

He stressed that Sudan wants a "re-hatting" of African Union troops
already in Darfur, to retain the presence of African soldiers in the
region.

"U.N. force is the African Force," he added.  "They are just going to
change the hats from green hats to blue hats.  There will be no other
forces in Darfur.  They are the same forces, with the same mandate,
with the same color and with the same guidance.  The chief will also
be from Africa."

The African Union peacekeeping mission in Sudan has suffered from
funding problems and a weak mandate.  The AU mission has only 7,000
troops patrolling an area the size of France.

The three-year-old conflict began when Darfuri rebels attacked
government positions, complaining that Darfur remained undeveloped
because of marginalization by the central government.  The Sudan
government is accused of arming Arab militias to crush the rebellion,
a charge it denies.


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