African Union extends Darfur force till year end

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 21 (Reuters) The African Union announced it would extend the stay of its underfinanced force in Sudan's Darfur region until the end of the year, heading off an immediate worsening of the crisis.

Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore, head of the AU's security committee, said after a mini-summit on the fringes of the UN General Assembly, that the force would receive logistical and material support from the United Nations.

The AU also obtained a commitment from Arab states to finance the operation, he said. Arab nations have promised funding in the past, but so far only NATO countries have helped with transport and other aid that has proved insufficient.

The mandate for the AU force of some 7,000 troops expires on September 30 and, while it has not been able to stop the fighting, it is the only bulwark against further atrocities in the vast region.

The AU's extension postpones the problem of getting a stronger, better-funded force into the area to provide safe havens for civilians, 2.5 million of whom have been driven from their homes into squalid camps in Sudan and Darfur.

Sudan is opposed to replacing the AU forces with UN troops, who could more aggressively enforce a shaky ceasefire signed in May between the government and one rebel faction.

Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has rejected a UN force in Darfur as a new form of colonialism, attended part of the meeting and again said he would not allow UN troops into Darfur as most African Union members want.

But Compaore said Sudan is ''disposed'' to work with the United Nations, without elaborating.

''All of the negotiations and all of the contacts we have had clearly indicated that they are willing and are disposed to work together with the United Nations,'' he said.

The UN Security Council last month authorized a force of up to 22,500 soldiers and police officers under United Nations command to take over Darfur operations from the AU troops.

But Sudan's consent is needed for a UN takeover.

''It is definitely positive to have that force continue,'' US State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters in Washington.

But he said it was important that the AU force evolve into a UN operation ''because that's ultimately the way to help achieve a lasting solution in Darfur.'' At a news conference at the United Nations on Tuesday, Bashir said the Khartoum government would approve an extension of the AU force but adamantly rejected an eventual transition to a UN force, saying it was a cover for aiding Israel.

''It is very clear there is a plan to redraw the region,'' he said. ''Any state in the region should be weakened, dismembered in order to protect the Israelis, to guarantee the Israeli security.'' UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno spoke to the AU council before it decided on the extension.

REUTERS DKS BST0516