War-torn Darfur to get 26,000 peacekeepers - Iraqis get tens of thousands of mercenaries

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http://www.suntimes.com/news/world/491699,CST-NWS-dar01.article

SUDAN | U.N. aims to stop 4-year-old war

August 1, 2007
BY EDITH M. LEDERER

NEW YORK -- The U.N. Security Council approved a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force for Darfur on Tuesday to try to help end four years of fighting that has killed more than 200,000 people in the vast Sudanese region.

The force -- the first joint peacekeeping mission by the African Union and the United Nations -- will replace the beleaguered 7,000-strong AU force by Dec. 31.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called it a "historic and unprecedented resolution."

But Ban, who has made Darfur a top priority since taking over as U.N. chief on Jan. 1, stressed that "it is only through a political process that we can achieve a sustainable solution to the conflict."