Darfur heading for 'disaster' unless UN troops allowed in: Annan

The troubled region of Darfur is heading for "disaster" unless the Sudanese governmentcan beconvinced to allow UN peacekeeping troops to enter, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said Wednesday.

"If the African Union forces were to leave and we're not able to putin a [UN force], we are heading for a disaster. And I don't think we can allow that to happen," Annan told reporters at a news conference.

Last month, the Sudanese government rejected a UN resolution that would have given the world body authority over peacekeepers in the Darfur region.

The UN Security Council votedto create a United Nations peacekeeping force in Sudan's Darfur region, but said it would not deploy ituntil the Khartoum government gave its consent.

Referring to the situation as desperate, Annan said the UN will continue its efforts to get the Sudanese government to "bend and change its attitude.

"When we hadRwanda, almost everyone said we should not let it happen again," Annan said. "So we have a big challenge in Sudan."

Sudan has refused to allow UN peacekeeperstojoin or replacean African Union force in Darfur, the troubled western region where fighting between militants, militias and government forces have killed more than 200,000 people in the past few years.

The African Union troops have beenlargely ineffective in quelling the conflict. The AU has endorsed the idea of handing over responsibility to the UN no later than the end ofSeptember, when its mandate and funding expire.

Annan's comments come as actor George Clooney and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel are setto address the Security Council about the crisis inDarfur.

Last April, Clooney, along with his father Nick, took a five-day tour ofthe region, documenting the conditions in Sudanese refugee camps.The actorhas criticized the U.S. government for being too slow to act on the crisis.