(Copyright National Post 2007)

ADDIS ABABA -African Union (AU) members yesterday pledged to put more troops into the UN-approved peacekeeping mission in Darfur, where fresh violence left dozens dead. Ambassadors to the pan- African body gathered at its Addis Ababa headquarters to raise troops for the force, which faces the daunting task of stabilizing the Sudanese region. "The response we got from our members has been encouraging. Many have pledged to send troops: Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Mauritania and many others have made pledges," said Said Djinnit, the AU commissioner for peace and security. The gathering came amid violence in southern Darfur that has claimed at least 140 lives. In the latest outbreak, a tribal leader said 65 people were killed and 25 wounded in a second day of clashes between the Rzigat Aballa tribe and the Torjam. The 7,000 AU peacekeepers now in Darfur will be replaced by a so-called "hybrid" force of AU and UN troops, following the UN Security Council's unanimous approval of the deployment on Tuesday. The new force will be the world's largest peacekeeping operation, with some 26,000 troops and police mandated to protect civilians in Darfur and support a moribund peace agreement signed last year. At least 200,000 people have been killed and more than two million displaced by the combined effect of war and famine since Darfur rebels complaining of marginalization rose up against Khartoum in February, 2003.