French President Nicolas Sarkozy Monday hosted a high-level conference of world players in an attempt to speed up deployment of international forces in Darfur,
Sarkozy stressed that the "lack of decision and the lack of action are unacceptable"
and pledged to invest an additional $13.4 million in the African Union force currently operating in Darfur, the AP news agency reported.
The one-day conference came about following the long-awaited decision of the Sudanese government to allow international forces join the 7,000-strong African Union (AU) force in Darfur. The decision was taken earlier this month by President ‘Umar Al-Bashir, who agreed to a combined U.N.-AU peacekeeping force of more than 20,000 troops.
Sudan was not invited to participate in the conference.
The conflict in the western region of Sudan has so far claimed the lives of more than 200,000 people and has displaced 2.5 million. Many have fled the region and crossed the border to neighboring Chad, where large refugee camps were hastily built.