Security Council Drops Appeal to Sudan to Quickly Launch a Robust Peacekeeping Force in Darfur

[Behind the Aegis]

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The U.N. Security Council dropped an appeal Friday urging Sudan to quickly allow a robust peacekeeping force in violence-wracked Darfur, approving instead a watered-down statement that took the focus off the Sudanese government.

The United States had drafted a presidential statement calling on Sudan, "to cooperate fully in ... the expeditious start-up and implementation," of a highly mobile and robust hybrid force of African Union and U.N. peacekeepers.

The AU and U.N. on Thursday proposed tripling the number of peacekeepers in Darfur with the force of at least 23,000 soldiers and police allowed to launch pre-emptive attacks to stop violence.

But after lengthy discussions among council experts and ambassadors Friday, the council eliminated all references to the Sudanese government, which has not given a green light to the deployment of the hybrid force.

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