The Khartoum government described as "a great victory for Sudanese diplomacy" the African Union's (AU) extension Friday of mandate of its forces in Darfur until end of September. Foreign ministry spokesman Jamal Mohammad Ibrahim was quoted by state media as saying Sudan has succeeded in keeping the African presence in Darfur despite international pressure to replace the AU forces with The AU council for peace and security approved the extension of mandate of its forces in the troubled Darfur province. Ibrahim noted that the AU decision included the formation of a new committee chaired by the rotating AU president to try to reach a political settlement for Darfur no later than April. He said his government was optimistic a
Ibrahim said the AU decision emphasized the role of the UN to backing peace but not peacekeeping. The AU is deploying 7,000 troops in Darfur to monitor a fragile ceasefire for the conflict that erupted in February 2003, between the Sudanese government and rebels in Darfur. The conflict killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over two million others. The lack of