The Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, says only African Union troops should be allowed to keep the peace in the country's war-torn Darfur region.

Sudan's President is insisting that only African Union, or AU, forces should take part in peace-keeping missions in the country's Darfur region. Omer al-Bashir clarified his position in parliament, in the face of mounting pressure from the United States and the UN, to allow UN forces into Darfur.

AU peacekeepers were first deployed in August 2004 after a year and a half of fierce internal fighting. This has killed as many as 200,000 people, and left more than 2 million homeless. Just 7,000 AU forces now struggle to keep the peace in a region still torn by daily violence and suffering. Regardless, Al-Bashir has proven resistant to UN offers to send troops in.

But former UN Chief, Kofi Annan, reached a minor breakthrough late last year with a three-phase deal. The first phase received Khartoum's approval, and allows for light UN support for the AU. But the Sudanese government has been wary of moving any further into the second and third phases, which could see as many as 20,000 UN troops deployed in Darfur.