UNITED NATIONS, May 16 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday welcomed the latest communique on peacekeeping operation in Darfur, Sudan, which is released by the African UnionPeace and Security Council.

    In a statement issued by his spokesman, Annan welcomed the communique of the African Union Peace and Security Council meetingheld in Addis Ababa on Monday.

    He was pleased that the meeting adopted a forward-looking agenda for war-affected Darfur that emphasized immediate measures to address the crisis.

    The secretary-general is also pleased by the decision of the Commission to take concrete steps to bring about the transition toa UN peacekeeping operation from the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) now monitoring the area.

    "The United Nations is continuing to prepare for that operationso that it can begin as early as possible," Annan said in the statement.

    Meanwhile, he hailed the UN Security Council Resolution 1679 adopted on Monday, and promised the Organization will continue to support AMIS including through efforts to mobilize the international community to strengthen the AU Mission in the interim period before a UN operation.

    "The United Nations also hopes to dispatch, as quickly as possible, a joint UN/AU Technical Assessment Team to Darfur, and towards that end, is in continuous consultation with the government of National Unity.," the statement concluded.

    The Security Council took a major step forward Monday towards establishing a robust UN peacekeeping force in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region. It unanimously adopted a resolution calling for thedeployment on the ground of a joint UN-Africa Union assessment team within one week to lay the groundwork for the operation, which would take over from AMIS. Enditem