No Darfur force transition to UN operation without consent of Government of Sudan - Parry

British Ambassador Sir Emyr Jones Parry, who is leading the UN Security Council meeting in Khartoum next week, along with French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, said he was working on the presumption Khartoum would agree to a UN force, Reuters Evelyn Leopold reported today. Excerpt:

"The signals are slightly confused but the latest contacts I have had suggest there has been agreement to the transition," he told reporters earlier. "Our working assumption is that there will be a transition to a United Nations operation but we will do that with the consent of the Government of Sudan."

Annan seemed to agree. "I think the Council's visit should also further facilitate matters, not only with reference to the assessment mission, but the actual deployment of the mission."

Note, the report tells us the largest UN peacekeeping mission of 17,000 troops and civilians is in the Congo at a cost of $1 billion a year.