Sudan asks UNSC for time to bring peace to Darfur

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir asked the UN Security Council to give his government time to bring peace to Darfur and delay action on the transfer of peacekeeping in the conflict-wracked region from the African Union to a UN force, according to a letter circulated Wednesday. Al-Bashir stressed the strong opposition of the people and leaders in Darfur to a UN force and warned that the UN's takeover would lead "without a doubt to acts of violence and unmanageable confrontations among all parties in Darfur, including the United Nations forces." With the situation in Darfur worsening and violence escalating, the United States and Britain have introduced a resolution that would transfer peacekeeping from the financially strapped African Union to a much larger and better equipped UN force. Britain's UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said he hoped it could be adopted by the end of August.