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Sudan VP: UN Force Needed in Darfur
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?r=279&ctl=13F91EE:A6F02AD83191E1603B9F47D7A485069E9574F7DCC14957C0 Salva Kiir says
government in Khartoum unable to protect Darfur's citizens





Salva Kiir (c) attends opening of peace talks with head of LRA
delegation (file photo)Sudanese First Vice President Salva Kiir has
said he would accept the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers to his
country's war-torn western Darfur region.

Mr. Kiir serves as both a Sudanese vice president and head of the
Sudan People's Liberation Movement regional government.  The former
southern rebel group based in Juba now shares power in Khartoum. 

Mr. Kiir said Friday at his party's meeting that the government in
Khartoum is unable to protect Darfur's citizens from the atrocities of
Arab militias.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and world leaders have been
pressuring Sudan's government to accept an international force when
African Union troops leave at the end of the month.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has repeatedly rejected international
peacekeepers, comparing them to a foreign invasion.

More than three years of fighting in the region has displaced 2
million people and killed about 200,000 others.  A study published in
the journal Science says the death toll in Darfur is often
under-reported, because of the difficulties of getting accurate body
counts.

Sudan's government recently began an offensive against Darfur rebel
groups that have refused to sign a May peace agreement.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.


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