EU Offers Police Mission to Sudan

The European Union said it might be willing to send a police mission to the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur, if asked by the African Union. The European Council head and Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot said the EU could help bolster the 120 African monitors in Darfur. "The EU, at the request of the African Union, could contribute to the extension of the current monitoring mission and protection force in Darfur," he said in a statement. "Furthermore, the EU could consider launching a police mission in support of an AU police mission in Darfur." The EU has previously considered a mission in the region but favoured backing the African Union force as a way of promoting an African solution to the crisis. Bot also said that sanctions against the government in Khartoum "at some point should not be excluded." (EUobserver.com)