Non-African troops 'not needed for 'Darfur'

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.

The Sudanese government is adamantly opposed to non-Africans playing any major role in the hybrid UN-African Union operation that was authorised by the UN Security Council on July 31 and will be made up of 20,000 peacekeepers and 6,000 civilian police.