Sudan says that this week will see the implementation of the first phase of expanding the current peacekeeping force to accommodate UN troops in Darfur.
Under a three-phase plan, the existing peacekeeping force of 7,000 African Union soldiers are to be augmented by dozens of UN experts and then expanded into a hybrid force, with UN troops providing logistical and other support.
More than 300,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in conflict in the troubled western region in the past three years.
There are also fears that the fighting is destabilising Chad, home to hundreds of thousands of refugees, where there has been an upsurge in violence.
