A senior US envoy is travelling to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, today in an attempt to persuade the government to accept a UN peacekeeping force in the southern Darfur region.
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer said she would discuss how a 'credible and legitimate' UN force can be deployed to the Darfur region.
The US and Britain have tabled a UN Security Council resolution proposing that up to 17,000 troops and 3,000 police be deployed in Darfur to replace a smaller African Union force.
Sudanese Islamist leaders say they will take up arms against UN peacekeepers if they deploy to Darfur, and some have warned they will also fight the Khartoum government if it agrees to the force.
Leaders of al-Qaeda have called on Muslims to fight any UN force in Darfur.
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has said he will personally lead the resistance to a UN force, comparing it to a Western invasion to colonise Sudan.
