Sudan leader balks at U.N. role in Darfur

UNITED NATIONS — Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has sent a letter to the U.N. secretary-general challenging a plan to send U.N. peacekeepers to Darfur — a setback to international efforts to stop the region's escalating violence.

The U.N. wants to send a 22,000-member joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission to Darfur, arguing the AU force of 7,000 now on the ground is overwhelmed. Al-Bashir agreed to the plan in November but has since sent conflicting signals.

In his letter, obtained Friday, al-Bashir insisted the November agreement established that the U.N. would provide the AU force with technical and financial assistance and "military consultants with ranks below that of the military commander appointed by the African Union." He objected to a section of a U.N. report stating that "full U.N. involvement in command and control would be a prerequisite for U.N. funding and troop contribution."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon received the letter Thursday, nearly two months after he asked al-Bashir to express his commitment to the plan in writing, said U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe.

Okabe said the letter, dated March 6, "contains some elements which seem to challenge the agreements reached last November ... on peacekeeping in Darfur."

She said Ban would consult with the U.N. Security Council on how to respond.

Ban has repeatedly urged al-Bashir to uphold his commitment to the U.N.-AU peacekeeping plan and warned that Darfur's deteriorating security situation is unacceptable.

Al-Bashir's response could prompt the United States and other Western countries to intensify a push for sanctions against Sudan.

U.S. officials have said Sudan's failure to fully comply with the U.N. plan could lead to the imposition of punitive measures against Sudan that have been approved by the Security Council but not implemented.

One such measure is the establishment of a no-fly zone over Darfur.