Libya to host summit on Darfur conflict - source

TRIPOLI, Mar 15 (Reuters) Libya will host a summit with Egypt in coming days to try to find a regional solution to the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, an official source in Tripoli said today.

The move comes amid intense pressure on the African Union to turn over peacekeeping in the western Sudanese province to the UN, despite opposition from Khartoum which is demanding that a peace deal is first reached between the government and rebels.

''There are now consultations and efforts are being exerted with all the Sudanese parties to solve the problem of Darfur,'' the Libyan source said.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will attend the summit due to take place in Tripoli in coming days, the source said, without giving an exact date.

United Nations and United States officials accuse Sudan of arming Arab militia who have raped, pillaged, killed and driven into squalid camps some two million people in the western Darfur region.

Sudan denies the charges.

A ceasefire between the militias and Darfur rebels has been in place since April 2004 but it is frequently violated by all sides, according to the African Union (AU), which is monitoring the situation with 7,000 ill-equipped troops.

Last week the AU extended its mission in Darfur until September 30 to buy time and break the impasse.

''Libya hopes to find a solution within six months within the African context,'' the source added.

Gaddafi, keen to act as a regional peace-broker, organised a summit last month between the leaders of Sudan and neighbouring Chad, who have accused each other of backing insurgents fighting the governments in N'Djamena and Khartoum.

Libyan officials said the two sides -- whose leaders both have good relations with Gaddafi -- pledged as a result to end media campaigns against one another and seek to normalise diplomatic ties.

Reuters SHR BD1909