UN Council cancels trip to discuss Darfur force

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 11 (Reuters) A divided UN Security Council on Friday abruptly canceled a trip to the African Union in Ethiopia to discuss a future force in Darfur after failing to agree on what they could talk about, diplomats said.

A delegation of eight envoys, led by Britain, was to have taken part in meetings on Monday with Sudanese officials and African Union officials at AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.

But differences emerged about whether the group had a mandate to engage in discussions, the size of the delegation and whether the visit should supersede a planned trip to Addis three days later from Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his staff, the envoys said yesterday.

''We haven't been able to reach consensus on the meeting in Addis Ababa,'' Peru's UN Ambassador Jorge Voto-Bernales, the current president, told reporters after lengthy consultations among the 15 council members.

He said there were disagreements over two issues. One was ''the mandate the delegation would have, constraints they would have, what message they would convey.'' ''The other was the composition. A number of delegations had volunteered to go but we received suggestions that we appoint a smaller delegation. But this matter also didn't reach consensus,'' Voto-Bernales said.

At issue is an August 31 Security Council resolution authorizing up to 22,500 UN troops, police and civilians for Darfur, providing the Sudan government agreed.

The AU extended its invitation in September but since then Khartoum has been adamant about rejecting a force under United Nations command, calling it colonialism.

'A BIT DATED' So explaining the resolution, which was the original purpose of the visit, is ''perhaps a bit dated,'' one envoy said, adding that no one was sure how the council discussions would mesh with what Annan's staff was considering.

The African Union has scheduled a series of meetings with Sudan next week on the future of its force in Darfur, whose mandate expires on December 31.

The AU has asked the United Nations to take over its underfinanced 7,000-strong operation, which has been unable to stop the violence that has cost at least 200,000 lives in the past three years.

Some diplomats said the United States, which was not in the delegation, was opposed to the trip, saying that the group could not negotiate on behalf of the Security Council. Russia opposed suggestions for a smaller group, diplomats reported.

The eight-member mission was to be headed by British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, who also led a council delegation to Sudan and Chad in June. Other envoys were from China, Ghana, France, Tanzania, Argentina, Qatar and Congo Republic, which holds the African Union presidency.

In the background are informal discussions on an African Union-UN hybrid force. One idea is to have the mission report politically to the United Nations as well as the African Union but have the force commander remain with the AU.

Such an arrangement could prove difficult in determining who makes which decisions, even if the concept proves to be more amenable to Sudan.

The conflict in Darfur is estimated to have made 2.5 million people homeless in fighting between rebels and the Arab-dominated government, backed by brutal militia.

REUTERS BDP ND0910