October 20, 2006 AP news still said: “Sudan Willing to Discuss U.N. Support,” as per ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU from Khartoum.

The Sudanese government is willing to discuss United Nations support for the African Union’s struggling peacekeeping force in Darfur, a senior government official said Thursday.

The government in Khartoum staunchly opposes a U.N. Security Council resolution to replace the 7,000-strong AU force with some 20,000 U.N. peacekeepers, saying it would violate Sudan’s sovereignty.

The ill-equipped and underfunded AU force is struggling to bring peace to Darfur, a vast region of western Sudan where more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in three years of fighting.

Instead of replacing the force with U.N. peacekeepers, the Sudanese government appears to be pushing for a stronger AU force to counter Western accusations it is letting the situation in Darfur deteriorate. Aid groups say the humanitarian crisis is edging toward an all-time low.

“We are not averse to the idea of discussing what kind of support the AU can receive in terms of troops, material and funding from the U.N.,” said senior adviser to the president Ghazi Saladdine after meeting with U.S. special envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios.

“Ultimately, we want to have an effective force in Darfur,” said Saladdine, one of the hard-liners of the ruling National Congress Party.

Natsios, due to leave Khartoum on Friday, held talks with several high ranking officials during his one-week visit but did not meet with President Omar al-Bashir. He did not speak to the media.

Several Western officials, including Jan Pronk, the head of the U.N. mission to Sudan, view a reinforced AU mission as one way to overcome the diplomatic deadlock on how to solve the Darfur crisis.

Steps to improve the mission’s efficiency have already been taken, and about 150 U.N. military and logistical advisers are due in Darfur in the coming week to reinforce the African force, said Sam Ibok, the AU’s chief negotiator for Sudan.

The AU has also planned to send several thousand more troops to Darfur, but has been struggling for weeks to fund this move. Chronic lack of cash has left some soldiers without pay since August, while some patrols can not go out because of the lack of fuel.

Ibok said, however, that at least 1,200 new troops from Rwanda and Nigeria would arrive in Darfur by the end of October.

Ibok said the AU would soon solve the problem of its unpaid soldiers, and had received pledges from the Arab League and other international backers for more the $50 million.

“We currently have enough funds to continue the mission until the end of the year,” he said by telephone.

Initially due to finish in September, the AU mission has been prolonged until the end of the year, and many observers say it should continue beyond that date to avoid a dangerous security vacuum.

Ibok said a possible extension would be discussed during an African Union summit in November and would depend on international support.

The talks come amid increased fighting in northern Darfur, where 350,000 people are deprived of humanitarian support because the violence makes it too dangerous for aid workers to operate.

A United Nations assessment released Thursday found that adequate access to food for those living in displacement camps in Darfur declined from 36 percent last year to 14 percent in 2006.

A new coalition of rebels backed by forces from neighboring Chad recently inflicted severe losses on the Sudanese army, which is now massing troops and militia in what many fear could become major fighting after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends next week.

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Here another area that Ban Ki-moon will have to deal with in his first month in office at the UN, as its Secretary-General. Playing it up to the sovereignty of Sudan does not save lives, and watching genocide in action simply destroys the UN. Doing the right thing will put him at cross purpose with the Arab League, but not doing the right thing will cause the rage of the NGOs. What will he chose?