Send foreign peacekeepers - US
18/04/2007 07:20  - (SA)  

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Sudan to accept UN force Sudan accepts peacekeeping plan Scramble to quell Sudan tension UN beefs up AU in Darfur Chad acknowledges attacks 'Apocalyptic' scenes in Chad 'Darfur-like crisis in Chad' CAR troops retake airport French reinforcements in CAR

N'Djamena - US deputy secretary of state John Negroponte on Tuesday urged the deployment of foreign troops in volatile Chad, Sudan and the Central African Republic which have been wracked by fighting.

"We fully support the deployment of two international peacekeeping forces in the region: the first is a hybrid United Nations-African Union force in Darfur," in Sudan, Negroponte told reporters in the Chadian capital N'Djamena.

The second, Negroponte said, was "a United Nations peacekeeping force for eastern Chad and northeastern Central African Republic".

"These robust international forces are required to improve the security of affected populations, and are the subject of continued bilateral discussions between Chad and the United States," he said.

Chad and Sudan have accused each other of staging cross-border attacks, with relations between them recently taking a nosedive after their forces clashed on the Sudanese side of the border. Khartoum claimed 17 of its troops had died while the Chadians said 30 soldiers from both sides had been killed.

Fighting in Sudan's western Darfur region that started in 2003 has also spilled over into neighbouring Chad and the Central African Republic.

African tour

Negroponte, who is on a four-nation African tour focused on trying to resolve the crisis in Darfur, is set to hold talks on Wednesday in Tripoli with Libya's pointman for Africa, Abdel Salam Triki.

He flew into to the Libyan capital from Chad, where he paid a brief visit following a five-day stay in Sudan.

While in Sudan, Negroponte pushed for Khartoum to accept all three phases of a UN plan to bring stability to Darfur, which is supposed to culminate with the deployment of UN peacekeepers to bolster the embattled African Union force in the war-torn region.

Sudan on Monday accepted the second phase of the plan, mainly involving logistical and technical support from the UN, but has yet to give its green light to the most contentious final phase of deploying UN troops in Darfur.

The United Nations estimates that some 200 000 people have died in Darfur and 2.5 million have been displaced since 2003.

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