KHARTOUM, Sudan, May 23 (UPI) -- Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol said his country welcomed the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in the war-torn province of Darfur, west Sudan.
Akol said the government will discuss the role of the United Nations with Lakhdar Ibrahimi, special envoy of the secretary-general, who is expected to arrive in Khartoum Tuesday within the framework of the agreement reached in Abuja, Nigeria, early this month.
The Sudanese government and several armed groups signed the agreement for ending violence in Darfur on May 5, but a number of militias in the beleaguered province rejected the accord.
Akol told United Press International in Amman Tuesday that his government, which previously refused the deployment of international troops to replace African Union forces in Darfur, believes the situation has changed after the Abuja agreement and that it is now possible to talk about a U.N. role within the framework of security arrangements.
"We have no problem with the presence of international forces, but it is important to define their role," Akol said.
He deplored, however, that the Abuja agreement was incomplete due to its rejection by a number of groups.
"The agreement on Darfur remains, however, a great gain for the residents of the province and for the whole Sudanese people," Akol added.
Some 10,000 international peacekeepers are currently stationed in south Sudan to oversee the implementation of the peace agreement which ended the country's civil war between the central government in Khartoum and southern rebels.
