Dozens of gunmen in jeeps ambushed UN-African Union peacekeepers in the Darfur region, killing at least one and wounding 23 others, a UN spokeswoman said.

DARFUR rebels said yesterday they had attacked an army base in West Darfur, killing a large number of soldiers in a renewal of fighting in the troubled area near Sudan’s western border with Chad.

The vital UN peacekeeping mission planned for war-torn Darfur is in danger of failing through lack of support, a top official said has warned.

Al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden called for a holy war against a proposed peacekeeping force in Sudan’s war torn region of Darfur in a message that appeared on jihadi websites today.

IRISH troops will be part of the European Union peacekeeping force in Chad, subject to Dáil approval.

Sudan insisted that African countries have offered enough troops for a peacekeeping force in Darfur despite UN concerns that the mission will not be effective without contributions from outside the continent.

In a rare, high-profile visit to the West, Sudan’s president today met with the pope and Italy’s premier, and offered to declare a cease-fire with Darfur rebels to coincide with the start of UN-backed peace talks next month.

SUDAN has expelled European and Canadian diplomats for “interfering in its affairs”.

Non-African troops will not be needed for the new Darfur peacekeeping force in Sudan because countries on the continent have committed enough soldiers, the head of the African Union said.

President George W Bush said today that the United States will tighten economic sanctions on Sudan and impose new punishments if it fails to take concrete action to stop the bloodshed in Darfur.

President George Bush’s envoy to Sudan said the US administration is preparing to impose new economic sanctions to counter Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s refusal to allow UN peacekeepers to deploy in Darfur.

US President George Bush’s envoy to Sudan said the US administration is preparing to impose new economic sanctions to counter Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s refusal to allow UN peacekeepers to deploy in Darfur.

The Sudanese government has accepted the UN package for Darfur, including the deployment of what is called a "hybrid" peacekeeping operation of UN and AU troops, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said last night.

Four million Sudanese in conflict-wracked Darfur are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance as newly rearmed Arab militias and rebels escalate attacks and resume looting and burning villages, the UN humanitarian chief said.