Sudan 'to accept peacekeepers for Darfur'

Sudan’s ambassador to the US, John Lueth Ukee, said today that only minor issues stand in the way of his government’s acceptance of a 22,000-member UN peacekeeping force to be deployed in the violence-plagued Darfur region.

His comment contrasted sharply with a letter that President Omar al-Bashir had sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon earlier this month in which he rejected a significant UN troop commitment to Darfur.