Sudan won't admit peacekeepers

KHARTOUM, Sudan, April 27 (UPI) -- Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has denied requests from the United Nations to allow peacekeepers into the Darfur region to stem internal violence.

A U.S.-backed proposal would send more than 15,000 U.N. and NATO peacekeepers to Darfur to replace an under-equipped African Union force of more than 6,000 troops, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

The Bush administration has accused Sudan and a government-backed militia of committing genocide in Darfur where more than 100,000 have died and 2 million been displaced over the past three years.

Hedi Annabi, the United Nations' second-ranking peacekeeping official, said the Sudanese leader left open the possibility of some U.N. role in assisting peace efforts if Khartoum makes peace with two rebel groups. Peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria, conclude Sunday.

If those talks fail and if the Security Council were to decide to intervene without Khartoum's approval, Annabi said that "such a mission is better undertaken by means other than a U.N. operation."

The Bush administration has secured NATO approval for a plan to send several hundred NATO advisers to bolster the African Union peacekeeping mission, as a first step in the transition to a U.N. mission, officials said.