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 ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Conflicts in Sudan and Somalia are among the crises competing for attention — and troops and funds for peacekeeping operations — at an African summit. The new U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, is including next week's African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital on his first official tour, underscoring the importance global leaders place on helping the 53-member union address the continent's problems.
The U.N. has pressed for a 7,000-member African Union peacekeeping force to be replaced by a more powerful, 20,000 U.N. force in Sudan's Darfur, where civil war has resulted in an estimated 200,000 deaths and forced more than 2.5 million from their homes. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has resisted large-scale U.N. intervention, even as Darfur's four-year war spills over the border, aggravating rebellions in Chad and the Central African Republic.
Al-Bashir and Ban were expected to meet Monday, the opening day of the two-day summit.
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