UN tells Darfur peace force to focus on security

By Patrick Worsnip

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council extended the stay of peacekeepers in Sudan's western Darfur region by another year on Friday, telling the force to focus primarily on protecting civilians and aid deliveries.

The 15-nation council unanimously approved the extension in a resolution that also condemned a recent surge of violence in Darfur and called on Khartoum to stop hindering the work of the joint African Union/U.N. peacekeeping force, or UNAMID.

The force, which stands at about 21,700 troops and police, has been struggling for three years with the Darfur crisis, which erupted when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003, accusing Khartoum of neglect.

The government responded by mobilizing mostly Arab militias accused of a campaign of rape, murder and looting that created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. U.N. officials say up to 300,000 have died, while Khartoum says 10,000.

Extending UNAMID's mandate until July 31, 2011, the Security Council called on it to give priority to protection of civilians and ensuring "safe, timely and unhindered humanitarian access" to an estimated 2 million refugees.

It instructed U.N. officials in Sudan to develop a "comprehensive strategy" to achieve those targets.

Western diplomats said the force should put those goals ahead of reconstruction projects or a direct role in attempts to negotiate a political settlement, which they said UNAMID had been straying into and which Sudan's government favored.

Peace talks between Khartoum and Darfur rebels are going on in Qatar, but have made little progress in the absence of the two main rebel groups.