U.N. finally taking action in Darfur

It has taken long enough, but it looks as though at least a few U.N. troops will be going into Darfur. The inaction on this front by the U.N. is criminal.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Sudan on Monday approved the deployment of attack helicopters and more than 3,000 U.N. troops, police, and other personnel in Darfur to beef up the 7,000 strong African Union force in the troubled region.

Sudan's U.N. ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem informed the secretary-general in a letter that the government had approved the U.N. plan to send helicopter gunships, the last outstanding item in the U.N.'s "heavy support package" for the AU force.

"It is the sincere hope of the Sudan that implementation of the heavy support package would precede expeditiously," Abdalhaleem said.

Sudan's Foreign Ministry confirmed the government's acceptance of the "heavy support" package.