Khartoum's discussing sending joint GOS/SPLA force of 10,000 troops to back up AU and help disarm Arab militias

Excerpt from Reuters report by Emma Thomasson 22 June 2006:

Junior Minister Deng said instead of UN forces Khartoum was discussing sending about 10,000 troops to back up the AU and help disarm the Arab militias.

He said the soldiers could come from the joint force that includes former rebel fighters from southern Sudan. Former rebels from the south joined a national unity government after a deal in 2005 ended a protracted north-south civil war.

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Apr 21 2005 South Sudan: SPLM/A willing and ready to deploy 10,000 of its troops to Darfur

Apr 22 2005 Bloggers unite to support Darfur peacekeeping mission - a troika of 30,000 forces from Sudan, New Sudan and UN/AU

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Jun 22 2006 AP report via Sudan Tribune: Joint army-rebel force could bolster AU troops in Darfur - Sudan - Speaking to reporters, Deng reiterated the Sudanese government's objection to allowing U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur. "People jump to UN troops as if they are the answer to everything," he said. Deng said a unit comprised of 5,000 members of the Sudan Armed Forces and 5,000 fighters from the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army could beef up the African Union mission, which has failed to rein in more than three years of violence. "These troops can be used to ... maintain law and order in Darfur," Deng said, adding that such units already exist elsewhere in Sudan.