Sudan: UN prepares to deploy peace keepers in Darfur

A United Nations Security Council resolution has paved the way for the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force in Sudan's western Darfur region and threatened sanctions against any parties standing in the way of peace. In a resolution adopted on Tuesday, the Council called on the African Union (AU) to agree with the UN and other regional and international bodies on a strategy to strengthen its 7000-strong peacekeeping force in Darfur before a UN mission is deployed.