Sudan rejects US-UK proposal of UN troops in Darfur

Aug 18 2006 The New York Sun (Benny Avni) - excerpt:

An American-British proposal to deploy 17,000 troops in Darfur was immediately rejected yesterday by Khartoum. President Bashir threatened that if the UN-led force reaches his country, it will be "defeated" like Israel by Hezbollah.

"We are determined to defeat any forces entering the country, just as Hezbollah has defeated the Israeli forces," [Sudanese president] Mr Bashir said yesterday.

"Legally speaking, the African Union" does not have "the right to transfer" the mandate in Darfur to a UN-led force, Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations, Omar Bashir Manis, said. "The Sudan government is opposed to the sending of troops, and I cannot see how anyone can envisage sending troops to a country which is not welcoming those troops."

Earlier this year the African Union's Peace and Security Commission met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where it decided "in principal" to pass the mandate of its force to the United Nations.