German minister calls for Darfur diplomacy

ACCRA, Ghana, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- United Nations peacekeepers will not be enough to end the conflict in Darfur, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier predicted.

After a three-day tour of West Africa, Steinmeier said a U.N. military intervention in the western Sudanese region must be accompanied by diplomatic efforts, Deutsche Welle reported.

Hope lies in a planned meeting of rebel groups and U.N. special envoys starting in Tanzania Friday, Steinmeier said after talks with Ghanaian Foreign Minister Akwasi Osei Adjei.

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Tuesday to send 26,000 troops and police to the region to replace 7,000 struggling African Union peacekeeping forces.

A peace accord signed last year failed to end the four-year conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced more than 2 million.