African Union extends mandate of Darfur force

0 Comments | AFP, September, 2006

NEW YORK (AFP) — The African Union (AU) agreed to extend the mandate of its peacekeepers in Sudan's troubled Darfur region for three months until December 31 after receiving promises of financial and logistical support from the United Nations and Arab states. The decision was reached at a summit meeting of the AU's 15-member Peace and Security Council (PSC) meeting here on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

"There has been an agreement to extend the mandate of the (AU) force for three months until December 31 while pushing for a dialogue between the Sudanese government and the United Nations," Burkina Faso President Blaise Campaore, the PSC chairman, told reporters after the meeting. He said the 7,200-strong AU force, known as AMIS, would be strengthened "through...