Sudan proposes joint force for Darfur

KHARTOUM-- Sudan has proposed the formation of a tripartite force including its own troops, rebel movements and the African Union (AU) to maintain peace in Darfur, the foreign ministry said Sunday.The proposal came amid growing expectations the United Nations would send its own forces to the war-torn region of western Sudan in a bid to quell the violence AU peacekeepers have failed to contain."We have proposed at the recent AU Peace and Security Council meeting in Addis Ababa the formation of a joint force," said foreign ministry spokesperson Jamal Mohamed Ibrahim.Such a proposal was likely to be fiercely opposed by rebel movements, who want Western troops to take over from the close to 7 000 AU peacekeepers who have been deployed since 2004.