Sudan says UN only needed for logistics in Darfur

By Michael Georgy

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol reiterated on Saturday that the United Nations should only play a logistical role supporting African Union troops in Darfur.

"We will not renegotiate," Akol told Reuters when asked whether his country would accept the deployment of U.N. troops in the violence-plagued region.

Sudan has rebuffed international demands to allow the deployment of a large U.N. force, saying supporting the under-funded and ill-equipped 7,000-strong AU force would be enough to stabilise the region.

At the heart of the debate with Western powers is the outcome of a November meeting in Addis Ababa. The United Nations says Khartoum agreed then to a three-phase plan that would end with a hybrid AU-U.N. operation in Darfur.

Sudan said it only agreed to the first two phases of U.N. logistical and financial support. Akol said on Saturday his country was not about to review its position.

After talks with Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Saturday, AU Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare said there had been a clear agreement in Addis Ababa on a hybrid force consisting of African troops under AU command with logistical, financial and administrative assistance from the United Nations.

He said the size of the African force had yet to be determined.

"It is up to the African Union and the United Nations, with the help of the Sudanese government, to implement what we agreed on, especially in regard to the size of the African force deployed and the arms made available to them," he told reporters.