Resolution presses for U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur

UNITED NATIONS – The Security Council passed a resolution Tuesday to accelerate transfer of control of an African Union force into a larger force led by the U.N. in Sudan’s Darfur region, and threatening sanctions for violators of a recent peace agreement.

The resolution is meant to jump-start a planned peacekeeping force of up to 20,000 U.N. soldiers that has been blocked by the Sudanese government. It also demands that Khartoum allow an assessment team of military experts into Darfur within one week.

The troops are meant to protect civilians and help people driven from their villages by government-backed militias to return home safely. The African Union now has about 7,300 troops spread across the region the size of France, but they have proven sparse and under-equipped.

The resolution threatens a travel ban and assets freeze for any person or group that impedes a May 5 peace agreement signed by the Sudanese government and the largest rebel force in the region. It also calls on two other rebel groups to swiftly join the agreement.