Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern has welcomed the decision by the African Union (AU) to extend the stay of its underfinanced force in Sudan's Darfur region until the end of the year.
Dermot Ahern
Mr Ahern expects to meet the Sudanese foreign minister at the United Nations General Assembly next week and will be pressing him for a full UN involvement in the region.
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said that without an extension of the AU mandate there would have been a vacuum, but that a more permanent solution now needs to be found.
Sudan is opposed to replacing the AU forces with UN troops, who could more aggressively enforce a shaky ceasefire signed in May between the government and one rebel faction.
Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore, head of the AU's security committee, said after a mini-summit on the fringes of the UN General Assembly that the AU force would receive logistical and material support from the United Nations.
The AU also obtained a commitment from Arab states to finance the operation, he said. Arab nations have promised funding in the past, but so far only Nato countries have helped with transport and other aid that has proved insufficient.
The mandate for the AU force of some 7,000 troops expires on September 30th and, although it has not been able to stop the fighting, it is the only bulwark against further atrocities in the region.
Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has rejected a UN force in Darfur as a new form of colonialism, attended part of the meeting and again said he would not allow UN troops into Darfur as most African Union members want.
But Mr Compaore said Sudan is "disposed" to work with the UN.
Additional reporting Reuters