UN approves move to improve Darfur peacekeeping

The UN Security Council has approved a resolution on Darfur aimed at improving the performance of the peacekeeping mission there as violence surges and hundreds of thousands flee.
The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force in the troubled western Sudan region has the second-highest budget of all UN peacekeeping forces but has been criticised for underperformance.
The council resolution that passed today aims to streamline the force's functions, and it urges member states to address the "critical need" for military helicopters to respond to crises across the vast region.
The UN has said an upsurge in violence in long-chaotic Darfur has displaced almost 200,000 people this year.

Darfur has been gripped by bloodshed since 2003, when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum, accusing it of discrimination and neglect.