West Ups Calls On Sudan to Accept Darfur Troops

BRUSSELS—The United States and the European Union stepped up calls on Friday for Sudan to let international troops in to support African Union forces in Darfur amid growing talk of sanctions on Khartoum.

The calls followed warnings from London and Washington that Sudan could face measures such as imposition of a no-fly zone over its vast west if it did not agree to such a force soon.

"Time is of the essence in a dire humanitarian situation," EU leaders said in a joint communique issued after talks on Darfur at a European summit in Brussels.

"(The EU) strongly urges the government of Sudan to give its unequivocal consent to the implementation of the U.N. support package for the AU mission in Sudan in its entirety."

Actor George Clooney (2nd R) speaks during a press conference, 15 December 2006, at United Nations headquarters in New York with actor Don Cheadle (R), Olympic athletes Joey Cheek (L) of the US and Tegla Loroupe (2nd L) of Kenya as the group briefed journalists about their recent trip to China and Egypt to discuss the situation in Darfur. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)

The U.N. support package is due to gradually turn the AU mission into a hybrid U.N.-AU operation. Sudan has so far refused to allow an international force to go to Darfur to end three years of fighting that has killed over 200,000 people.

After talks in Brussels with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, U.S. special envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios also urged Sudan to unblock the U.N. proposals.

"If we cannot get that resolved then we have a big problem," he told reporters of Sudan's continued resistance, declining to spell out what consequences it would face if it persisted.

Both NATO and the EU have provided logistical support for AU forces there, for example with training and air transport for troop rotations. But there is wariness within both bodies about any direct combat role for Western troops.

NATO decided on Thursday to extend for another six months to mid-2007 its logistical support for the AU, but stressed its limited mandate—which, for example, does not allow any major troop presence—would remain the same.

"The situation is grave and we'll give it our full attention. But we are not the lead player in the process," said a NATO official after meetings with Natsios, stressing the lead role of the African Union backed by the United Nations.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said his country would support a no-fly zone in Darfur as part of a sanctions package against Sudan if it continues to resist allowing an international force into Darfur.

The United States is also considering such options if Sudan does not agree to a force by Jan. 1.

EU officials say any move towards a no-fly zone would first need a U.N. Security Council resolution.