AU Mission in Darfur mandate extended until end of 2006

The African Union has agreed to a UN request to extend the mandate of its military mission in Darfur by three months until the end of 2006, its chairman Denis Sassou Nguesso said, Reuters [via The Age] reported July 3, 2006:

"On the request of the secretary general, the African Union will continue to fulfil its mission until the end of the year," said Congo Republic president Sassou Nguesso, who holds the revolving AU presidency.

Photo: Kofi Annan, Secretary General of U.N, seated centre, speaks to journalists at the venue of the African Union Summit AU in Banjul, Gambia Sunday, July 2, 2006. Annan held talks with Sudan's president Sunday and said he was hopeful U.N. peacekeepers would eventually be deployed to Darfur. (AP Photo/George Osodi/Yahoo)