African force to stay in Darfur

African Union troops are poorly equipped and often unpaid

The African Union (AU) has agreed to extend the mandate of its peacekeeping force in the Sudanese region of Darfur for a further six months from January.

African leaders failed to agree to an expansion of the 7,000-strong force, often said to be weak and ill-equipped.

The Sudanese government has repeatedly refused to allow a larger UN force to replace the AU peacekeepers.

More than 200,000 people have died in three and a half years of conflict. Over two million have been displaced.

The decision to extend the mandate - which was due to expire on 31 December - was announced after a meeting of African heads of state in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

We want an African force. We can take technical, advisory and financial support from the UN, but no UN force Sudan President Omar al-Bashir Q&A: Peacekeeping in Darfur

The council also endorsed a proposal for a hybrid AU and UN force, but conceded ground to Khartoum by deciding that the UN should only have a supporting role.

"By hybrid we mean... the mission should be essentially African troops, but there might be a case for support elements from the UN," AU peace and security commissioner Said Djinit said.

He added that the size of the force would be "based on the assessments of the African Union" on the ground.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said he would accept UN support but added: "We want an African force. We can take technical, advisory and financial support from the UN, but no UN force."

Save Darfur Coalition spokesman Larry Rossin said many details of the new force were unclear.

"We are sceptical until we see the flesh on the bone. Whatever the arrangements, they should provide credible protection to civilians," he said.

A hybrid mission of 17,000 soldiers and 3,000 police was proposed earlier this month after a meeting of the UN, the AU and Sudanese delegates, but talks faltered after Khartoum expressed reservations over the numbers involved.

The Sudanese government has repeatedly rejected plans to transform the African force into the 20,000-strong UN mission agreed to by the Security Council in August.

The UN wants to send a full international peacekeeping operation to end what some governments have called genocide perpetrated by the Sudanese army and its associated militias.

'Desperate need'

Meanwhile, the UN human rights council has agreed to hold an emergency session to investigate human rights violations in Darfur.

Refugees from fighting in Darfur tell their stories In pictures

The meeting in Geneva was told by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and human rights commissioner Louis Arbour that the violations in Darfur and the involvement of the Sudanese government could no longer be overlooked.

The session is due to be held in Geneva on 12 December.

The UN's aid chief Jan Egeland recently warned that the number of people in "desperate need" of aid in Darfur had risen to 4 million, compared to 1 million two years ago.

The UN estimates that at least 200,000 people have died from the effects of the three-and-a-half year war.

Mr Bashir says the scale of the problems has been exaggerated and 9,000 have been killed in the fighting.