Obama administration to engage Sudan

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The Obama administration says it plans to use a mix of incentives and pressure to seek an end to human rights abuses in Darfur, Sudan.

The new policy, to be announced Monday, seeks to engage the Sudanese government rather than isolate it as President Barack Obama proposed during the 2008 campaign, The New York Times reported Saturday.

"To advance peace and security in Sudan, we must engage with allies and with those with whom we disagree," said a statement of the policy obtained by the Times.

The policy sets strict timelines for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to fulfill the conditions of a 2005 peace agreement his government signed with rebels in southern Sudan. That agreement calls for a vote in 2011 on independence for southern Sudan.

The policy is likely to draw criticism from activist groups and Sudanese rebel leaders who have accused Obama of failing to stand tough against Bashir, whom the International Criminal Court indicted this year for crimes against humanity.