Twelve largely overlapping stories (updated originally to add the one from ITN; updated further both to reflect a newer version of the RTE story on the source page, and to add the ones from Ireland's "Evening Echo", the "Irish Times", and inthenews.co.uk; updated still further to add a second, newer story from Australia's ABC; updated yet again to reflect a newer version of the Sky News story on the source page; updated still further to reflect even-newer versions of the Press Association, RTE, Sky News, and "Irish Times" stories on the respective source pages):
(See also the semi-related "Observer" interview with Mark Malloch Brown.)
From the AP...
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said [on] Sunday that Britain will probably provide technical support for the thousands of peacekeepers in Darfur, the vast, war-battered region in western Sudan.
He spoke as demonstrators prepared to march near his office in London [in order] to demand more action by governments such as Britain's in the Darfur crisis.
In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., Brown said: "The tragedy in Darfur is one of the greatest humanitarian disasters of our time." He said [that] a cease-fire is the key to moving forward in Sudan, warning that more pressure would be applied, if that did not happen.
The African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission of about 20,000 troops and 6,000 police is expected to start arriving in the western region of Sudan next month. It will replace a beleaguered 7,000-strong AU force that has been unable to halt the bloodshed.
"It's likely [that] we will provide technical assistance, but it's also likely ... that we will give support to those African countries that are actually contributing to the force," Brown said.
He provided no details, but Britain may provide personnel for the headquarters of the U.N.-AU force, and flights and equipment for its African soldiers and police.
Securing the U.N.'s approval for the peacekeepers was seen in Britain as a significant international achievement for Brown during his first visit to the United States as Britain's new prime minister in July.
Next week, the U.N. General Assembly meets to further discuss the Darfur crisis.
On Sunday, tens of thousands of campaigners are expected to take to the streets in countries such as Britain, the U.S., New Zealand, South Africa, and Japan to call for action in Darfur.
In London, the Global Day for Darfur demonstrators were to march from the Sudanese Embassy near St. James's Park to Brown's 10 Downing St. office [in order] to highlight the crisis in Darfur.
More than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been uprooted since ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Sudanese government in 2003, accusing it of decades of neglect. Sudan's government is accused of retaliating by unleashing a militia of Arab nomads known as the janjaweed — a charge [that] it denies.
Brown supported Sunday's protests, saying: "I can give the assurance that we are going to keep up our efforts as a British government, working with other governments, to make sure that this combination of opportunities ... does make the difference that's necessary."
He appealed to the international community to ensure that the stepped-up peacekeeping force is on the ground in Darfur, as soon as possible.
"I want to see the hybrid force in place before the end of the year," he said. "I want to see it there, if at all possible, earlier than that."
Demonstrators marched to Downing Street [in order] to demand action for Darfur.
The UN assembly in New York [thos] week is due to urge international governments to step up to their responsibilities in the war-torn region.
Campaigners are demanding the full and swift deployment of a recently authorised peacekeeping force and [are] calling for international pressure on all sides, until attacks on civilians stop.
The march coincides with the second anniversary of the UN "responsibility to protect" agreement. This saw world governments vow to act to stop genocide and mass atrocities, wherever they occur in the world.
But two years after that declaration, campaigners say, the international community has yet to fulfil their commitments to Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed.
The march saw demonstrators march from the Sudanese Embassy through the capital to Number 10.
Bearing placards that said: "Darfur: Don't Look Away" and "Protect Darfur", they chanted: "Stop killing in Darfur" and "Peace for Darfur".
David Brown of genocide-prevention organisation the Aegis [Trust] said: "This is the second anniversary of the commitment by world leaders at the UN world summit of the responsibility to protect people at risk of genocide.
"The UN have the authority for a force of 26,000 peacekeepers to go into the region. There is very widespread concern that the timetable for deploying this is going to slip."
Mr Brown said [that] for the peacekeeping force to work effectively, it needs to have a very clear steer from political leadership. "Otherwise it's going to end up making a bad situation worse," he said.
From the BBC...
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants Darfur's proposed peacekeeping force to be in place by the end of the year, he has told the BBC.
Mr Brown pledged technical help for the UN-African Union force, and warned of further sanctions, if fighting in Sudan's strife-torn region continues.
Some 200,000 people have been killed and 2 [million have been] displaced in Darfur since 2003.
Rights groups have declared Sunday a Global Day for Darfur, with events planned in 30 nations around the world.
Campaigners from groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Save Darfur Coalition plan to wear blindfolds in an appeal to world leaders not to look away from the continuing violence in Darfur.
The government in Khartoum and Arab militias allied to it have been blamed for massacres of the Darfur's black African population since 2003 - charges [that] the government denies.
Ceasefire plea
In an interview with the BBC World Service, Mr Brown called the conflict "one of the great tragedies of our time".
Analysts say [that] Mr Brown's timetable for a peacekeeping force is ambitious, given that Sudan's Arab government has been reluctant to accept the involvement of non-African troops.
Government forces and their allies continue to fight local rebels, but Mr Brown said [that] it would "disastrous" if the fighting did not stop.
"This is an attempt... to bring the [UN] resolution, the ceasefire, political settlement, all these things coming together," he said.
"If that were to happen, we'd be prepared to give economic assistance, so that the people of Darfur were in a better position and we can start to rebuild.
"If it doesn't work, and we find that the government of Sudan is not making the changes necessary, then we will have to move to further sanctions."
He said [that] the government should agree [to] a ceasefire with the rebels [in order] to allow the peacekeepers to deploy.
On a visit to Rome this week, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir said [that] he was willing to sign a peace deal with rebel groups.
Although the UK will not be contributing troops to the peacekeeping force, Mr Brown pledged to give "technical help", understood to mean airlifting African personnel into the region.
BBC world-affairs correspondent Mark Doyle says [that] the UK leader's comments reflect Western impatience with the Khartoum government.
The Arab administration, consistently hostile to the involvement of non-African troops, agreed to a hybrid peacekeeping force, including some UN peacekeepers, only after months of negotiations.
Commentators have accused Khartoum of deliberately blocking attempts to mediate the conflict.
The force will be made up of about 20,000 soldiers and 6,000 police officers.
Thousands of African Union peacekeepers are already in the region, the rest are due to begin arriving next month.
From Australia's ABC (also based on the BBC interview; from earlier)...
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says [that] if the Sudanese Government sticks to its promises, there is a real chance of settlement in the troubled region of Darfur.
Mr Brown says [that] he is encouraged by three factors - peace talks due next month, the offer of a ceasefire by the Sudanese Government, and the planned deployment of a hybrid African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force.
Mr Brown says [that] Sudan must now honour its commitments.
"Promises have been made by the regime, resolutions have been passed," he said.
"The follow-up requires that the troops be there on the ground, and that's why 20,000 African Union and UN troops have got to move in pretty quickly."
Protests are to take place in 30 countries in the coming hours to highlight the crisis in the Sudanese region of Darfur, where at least 200,000 people have died in more four and a half years of conflict.
A demonstration is due to be held in London, and other events are scheduled from Vancouver to Accra.
Under the slogan "Don't Look Away", organisers of today's protests are demanding action from world leaders when they meet at the United Nations General Assembly [this] week.
The demonstrations come at a critical time.
Peace talks are planned to be held in Libya, and the Sudanese government has promised a ceasefire, once negotiations are [under way].
British Govt hopeful
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown described Darfur as "one of the great tragedies of our time".
But he told the BBC [that] he believed that there was now a real chance of a settlement.
Mr Brown says [that] he is encouraged by three factors: peace talks due next month, the offer of a ceasefire by Sudan, and the planned deployment of a hybrid African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force.
He says [that] Sudan now has to honour its promises.
"If that were to happen, we'd be prepared to give economic assistance, so that the people of Darfur were in a better position and we can start to rebuild," he said.
"If it doesn't happen however, and all the promises are not honoured, then I think we've got to be pretty clear.
"That's why I've said, and I believe other countries will say, if it doesn't work and we find that the government of Sudan is not making the changes necessary, then we will have to move to [implement] further sanctions."
From Reuters (also here)...
Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Sunday pledged technical support for peacekeepers due to go to Sudan's Darfur region, but warned Khartoum of possible further sanctions, if it failed to make "necessary changes".
He was speaking in a BBC interview as human-rights groups prepared protests and marches in a "Global Day for Darfur" in around 30 countries, including Britain.
Brown described as "one of the great tragedies of our time" the 4-1/2-year Darfur conflict, in which international experts say some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes. Khartoum disputes the figures.
The Sudanese government and Darfur rebels are to hold peace talks on Oct. 27 in Libya, under the auspices of the United Nations and African Union.
Britain, Sudan's former colonial ruler, says [that] it will not contribute soldiers to the 26,000-strong joint U.N. and African Union peacekeepers, in line with Khartoum's demand for a predominantly African presence in Darfur.
Brown's promise of "technical help" was understood to mean airlifting African peacekeepers to the region, or possibly supplying equipment [in order] to help them operate.
Brown told the BBC [that] a ceasefire and political settlement was needed.
"If that were to happen, we'd be prepared to give economic assistance, so that the people of Darfur were in a better position and we can start to rebuild.
"If it doesn't work, and we find that the government of Sudan is not making the changes necessary, then we will have to move to further sanctions," he said in remarks on the BBC Web site.
Sudan signed a joint statement with the United Nations this month agreeing to end violence in Darfur, prepare for the peace talks and help deploy the peacekeepers.
Brown said [that] the peacekeeping force should be deployed this year, but officials have indicated [that] next year was more likely.
British Foreign Office Minister for Africa Mark Malloch Brown said in an interview with the Observer on Sunday that the peacekeepers expected a fight with groups like the government-allied Arab militias known as the Janjaweed.
"I'm sure [that] the forces will be tested early on by "janjaweed" elements who want to humiliate it. But this is an enforcement force, not an observation force. It will be stepping in to protect civilians who are under attack," said Malloch Brown, who visited Darfur this month.
Britain and France last month revived the spectre of sanctions against Khartoum, if progress is not made on a Darfur ceasefire and at the peace talks. The United States has also threatened wider sanctions.
The U.N. Security Council has already imposed an arms embargo on rebels and militia, but not on the government.
China is to send more than 300 engineering troops to Darfur next month to help prepare for the peacekeeping force, but Beijing has been seen as the main opponent on the U.N. Security Council to Western moves for sanctions.
From RTE...
Protests took place in 30 countries around the world to mark [a] Global Day for Darfur today [Sunday].
Meanwhile, the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has said that he wants Darfur's proposed peacekeeping force to be in place by the end of the year.
He has pledged 'technical help' for the joint UN-African Union force, which is understood to mean the airlifting of African peacekeepers to the region, or possibly supplying equipment to help them operate.
Britain, Sudan's former colonial ruler, says [that] it will not contribute soldiers to the 26,000-strong joint UN-AU force, in line with Khartoum's demand for a predominantly African presence in Darfur.
Mr Brown also hinted at sanctions, if fighting in the southern Sudanese region continues, and described the four-and-a-half-year Darfur conflict as 'one of the great tragedies of our time'.
Some 200,000 people have died in the Darfur conflict since 2003, and more than 2.1 [million] people have been displaced, according to UN estimates that are contested by Khartoum.
The Sudanese government and Darfur rebels are to hold peace talks on 27 October in Libya, under the auspices of the UN and [the] African Union.
Sudan signed a joint statement with the UN this month, agreeing to end violence in Darfur, prepare for the peace talks, and help deploy the peacekeepers.
Thousands of protestors around the world have been marching to highlight the crisis in Darfur.
Demonstrators in 30 capital cities, including London, called on the international community to take more action to stop the killing and suffering in the region.
Earlier, Gordon Brown said [that] it's essential [that] the recent UN resolution to send peacekeeping troops there is implemented.
In London, protestors marched from the Sudanese Embassy near St James's Park to Downing Street [in order] to highlight the deaths of more than 200,000 people in four years of violence.
Another two million are thought to have been displaced since Janjaweed militias - allegedly backed by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum - started reprisals against ethnic African rebels in Darfur.
Bearing placards that said: "Darfur: Don't Look Away" and "Protect Darfur", the activists chanted: "Stop killing in Darfur" and "Peace for Darfur".
The Prime Minister said [that] for the peacekeeping force to work effectively, it needs to have a very clear steer from political leadership.
"I think [that] it is one of the great tragedies of our time, that so many people have died, so many people have been displaced, and so many people face famine, as a result of the events of Darfur," he said.
He has also promised British support for peacekeeping troops in Darfur, and has signalled [that] the UK would provide "technical" assistance for a 26,000-strong force.
The hybrid African Union-United Nations mission, consisting of about 20,000 troops and another 6,000 police, is expected to start arriving in the western region of Sudan from next month.
David Brown of genocide-prevention organisation the Aegis said: "There is very widespread concern that the timetable for deploying this is going to slip."
The UN is set to meet in New York next Friday [in order] to further discuss the Darfur crisis.
From ITN...
Gordon Brown has pledged support for Darfur peacekeeping troops as demonstrations are held to highlight the plight of the war-torn region.
Rights groups have declared Sunday a Global Day for Darfur, with events planned in 30 nations around the world.
In London, demonstrators will march from the Sudanese Embassy near St James's Park to Downing Street [in order] to highlight the deaths of over 200,000 people during four years of violence.
Around 2 million people are believed to have been displaced since Janjaweed militias - allegedly backed by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum - started reprisals against ethnic African rebels in Darfur.
During his first visit to the US as Prime Minister in July, Mr Brown secured the UN's approval for a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force.
The Prime Minister has signalled [that] the UK will provide "technical" assistance for the force, and also support for the African nations that contribute manpower.
From October, the hybrid African Union-United Nations mission, consisting of about 20,000 troops and another 6,000 police, is expected to start arriving in the western region of Sudan.
Mr Brown said: "I can give the assurance that we are going to keep up our efforts as [the] British government, working with other governments, to make sure that this combination of opportunities...does make the difference that's necessary.
"I think [that] it is one of the great tragedies of our time, that so many people have died, so many people have been displaced, and so many people face famine, as a result of the events of Darfur."
He added: "It's likely [that] (Britain) will provide technical assistance.
"But it's also likely, because this is an African Union force that is also being put in place, that we will give support to those African countries that are actually contributing to the force."
The PM also reiterated previous demands for a ceasefire in Darfur, saying that it would be "disastrous" if the fighting did not stop, and threatening tougher sanctions against the Khartoum regime.
But he also held out the incentive of economic support for the Darfur region, if a ceasefire was observed.
Mr Brown appealed to the international community to ensure that the force is on the ground in Darfur as soon as possible.
He said: "I want to see the hybrid force in place before the end of the year," he said. "I want to see it there, if at all possible, earlier than that."
Hopes of a ceasefire were boosted on [Friday] when the Sudanese president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, said [that] Khartoum was ready to call a ceasefire when peace talks get under way in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on October 27.
"We hope that the negotiations in Tripoli will be the last ones, and that they will bring definitive peace," Mr al-Bashir said.
The UN is set to meet next Friday to further discuss the Darfur crisis.
Thousands of campaigners took to the streets in 30 cities across the world in Global Day for Darfur rallies today [Sunday], calling on their governments to support efforts to tackle the crisis in the war-torn region.
More than 200,000 people have died in four years of violence. Another two million are thought to have been displaced since Janjaweed militias - allegedly backed by the Arab-dominated Sudanese government in Khartoum - started reprisals against ethnic African rebels in Darfur.
Khartoum disputes the figures.
Hopes of a ceasefire were boosted [on Friday] when the Sudanese president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, said [that] Khartoum was ready to call a ceasefire when peace talks get under way in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on October 27th.
"We hope that the negotiations in Tripoli will be the last ones, and that they will bring definitive peace," Mr al-Bashir said.
But Darfur rebels are yet to be convinced by the president's comments.
Khamis Abdallah, head of the United Front for Liberation and Development, said: "When al-Bashir talks about a ceasefire, he's not credible. We are seeing an escalation of military operations, which means [that] he's saying this for political reasons."
Britain and France last month revived the prospect of sanctions against Khartoum, if progress is not made on a Darfur ceasefire and at the peace talks. The United States has also threatened wider sanctions.
The UN Security Council has already imposed an arms embargo on rebels and militia, but not on the government. The UN is set to meet next Friday [in order] to further discuss the crisis.
British prime minister Gordon Brown today promised support for peacekeeping troops in Darfur [...]. Mr Brown said [that] the UK would provide "technical" assistance for a 26,000-strong force, and [would] also support for the African nations that contribute manpower.
The hybrid African Union-United Nations mission, consisting of about 20,000 troops and another 6,000 police, is expected to start arriving in the western region of Sudan from next month.
From Ireland's "Evening Echo"...
The British Prime Minister has promised support for peacekeeping troops in Darfur.
This comes as campaigners gather in 30 countries around the world, as part of a global day of action.
More than 200,000 people have lost their lives in the war-torn region of Sudan.
Gordon Brown has signalled that the UK will provide ["]technical["] assistance for a 26,000-strong force and also support for the African nations that contribute manpower.
The African Union-United Nations mission is expected to start arriving in the western region of Sudan from next month.
From inthenews.co.uk (and affiliated sites)...
Gordon Brown says [that] Britain should provide technical support to the 26,000-strong peacekeeping force due to be deployed to Sudan's wartorn Darfur region.
The UN force, which will be the largest of its kind, was reluctantly accepted by the Sudanese government, which has made its preference for an all-African contingent clear.
Observers say [that] the presence of British personnel assisting the force could encounter resistance from Khartoum, but Mr Brown believes [that] further resistance to moves towards peace should be punished.
Speaking to the BBC, he said [that] the international community could impose further sanctions on the Sudanese government, if it fails to stop fighting between rebel factions and the janjaweed militia [that] it supports.
"If it doesn't happen… and all the promises are not honoured, then I think we've got to be pretty clear. If it doesn't work, and we find that the government of Sudan is not making the changes that are necessary, we will have to move to further sanctions," he said, adding that he expected [that] other European governments and the US would also back this stance.
Mr Brown's comments come on a Global Day for Darfur in which protests against the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region will take place around the world.
London will see a march and rally beginning at the Sudanese embassy at 12:00 BST, and ending outside Downing Street.
Demonstrations are also planned in Paris, Rome, Lisbon, and Brussels in Europe, and in New York, Japan, and Rio de Janeiro elsewhere around the world.
At least 200,000 people are believed to have died in the conflict since it began in 2003.
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