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 UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the Security Council to strengthen African Union forces in the Sudan's violence-wracked Darfur region and more than double it if a U.N. takeover of peacekeeping duties is approved.
In a 30-page report to the council circulated Tuesday, Annan laid out proposals for a much more muscular U.N. operation to protect civilians and support a peace agreement signed by the government and one rebel group in May.
The plans envision a U.N. force of between 15,300 and 17,300 troops, depending on the number of aircraft and rapid reaction troops. Annan also proposed more than tripling the 1,560-strong African Union police contingent to about 5,300 U.N. officers.
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