"UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The African Union said Wednesday the mandate for its peacekeeping forces in Darfur will be extended through the end of the year, averting a crisis by ensuring that international troops will remain in the war-torn Sudanese province.
The AU also said the United Nations will provide material and logistic support. The mandate had been set to expire Sept. 30.

An underfunded African Union force in Darfur has been largely unable to stop the violence, leading AU leaders and the U.N. Security Council to demand a takeover by the United Nations, with its deeper pockets and better resources. But the Sudanese government had refused the U.N. peacekeepers."