THE African Union, the United Nations and the Sudanese government opened talks in Ethiopia today on the deployment of a hybrid AU-UN force of 23,000 peacekeepers to Sudan`s war-torn region of Darfur.
Earlier in Khartoum, Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol said he expected an agreement to be reached soon.
"I am happy to say that the three parties are currently discussing in Addis Ababa the details of a hybrid force and we hope to have an agreement in the coming hours," Mr Akol said in Khartoum after talks with his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner.
The talks were being co-chaired by the AU`s Peace and Security Commissioner Said Djinnite, UN head for peacekeeping operations in Africa Dimitri Titov and Mutrif Seddik, head of the Sudanese delegation.
Khartoum has rejected attempts to send UN peacekeepers to Darfur, where a four-year conflict has killed at least 200,000 people and forced more than two million from their homes, according to the United Nations.
Khartoum contests the figures, saying 9000 people have died.
There are currently 7000 AU peacekeepers in the region but they are being hindered by a severe lack of funding and equipment.
