US says UN Resolution makes clear that Khartoum's consent to UN force is invited but not necessary

AFP report [via ST] - excerpt:

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said:

"My understanding is that this refusal to allow in a UN force, as well as asking the AMIS force to leave, has not been officially conveyed to any of the international partners. So we would hope that that is not, in fact, the position of the Sudan government."

"Certainly it's very troubling, the reports of a buildup by the Sudanese army," McCormack told reporters.

He said the foreign countries backing the placement of a UN force in Darfur would like Khartoum's consent to do so.

"But as the resolution makes clear, it (consent) is invited, but not necessary," he noted.