Pressure mounts on Sudan to accept UN Darfur mission
As pressure mounts on Sudan to accept UN troops in its violent Darfur region, the Khartoum government is closing ranks in defiance, raising fears of a deadlock that could hasten Darfur's descent into chaos. The top US diplomat on Africa, Jendayi Frazer, is to arrive in Khartoum on Saturday carrying a strong message from
President George W. Bush that President Omar Hassan al-Bashir should drop his opposition to a UN takeover of a struggling African Union mission in Sudan's west.
During a two-day visit, Frazer hopes to meet Sudanese officials ahead of a Security Council meeting on Monday to discuss a British draft resolution to deploy around 20,000 UN police and soldiers to Darfur. (AP)
