In South Sudan, The African Union has welcomed the UN's decision to send more troops into South Sudan.  It's determined to win the co-operation of the government in Juba and has now enlisted the services of a  statesman to make it's case.

Few people will envy the job facing Mali's former president, Alpha Oumar Konar?
He's the AU's special envoy to South Sudan -
and the AU is pinning its hopes on him  - to win Juba's backing for more foreign troops on South Sudanese  soil.

The UN Security Council decided this past weekend to deploy up to four thousand more soldiers -
with a mandate to fight any force threatening civilians.

Officials tell me that's in line with what the African Union has been pushing for.
And that, as of Sunday, the potential troop contributors - Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan and Uganda -  have given no signal they're having second thoughts.