U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon heads to Sudan on Monday to press for speedy deployment of a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force in Darfur and a quick start to new peace talks to end the four-year conflict. «I want to create the foundations of a lasting peace and security,» Ban told reporters last week. «My goal is to lock in the progress we have made so far, to build on it so that this terrible trauma may one day cease.» Ban has expressed deep concern at the recent escalation in violence that has led to hundreds of deaths in the last few weeks. Nonetheless, the secretary-general said he chose this time to make the weeklong trip _ which will also include stops in Chad and Libya _ because of the «historic opportunity» provided by the U.N. Security Council's adoption of a resolution on July 31 authorizing the 26,000-strong African Union-United Nations force. It will replace the beleaguered 7,000-strong AU force now in Darfur by Dec. 31. Ban said deploying the force quickly will be «one of the largest and most complex field operations the United Nations has ever undertaken» because of the harsh environment and lack of water and communications _ and «it cannot succeed without the cooperation of the government of Sudan.» The secretary-general has been in Turin for a meeting with senior U.N. staff and was scheduled to fly to Khartoum on Monday, the Associated Press reported. --MORE
