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By Michael Georgy

KHARTOUM, April 13 (Reuters) - Sudanese officials working to finalise a deal on U.N. support for the African Union mission in Darfur have recommended Khartoum permit the use of attack helicopters by peacekeepers, the Foreign Ministry said.

"They have made a positive recommendation and it is now up to the leadership. The president must decide," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadig told Reuters on Friday.

The United Nations is nearing a deal with Khartoum to add 3,000 U.N. military personnel and equipment to the AU force but Sudan has so far objected to fielding six attack helicopters.

Sudan also has not agreed to the next stage of an AU-U.N. Darfur operation, which would involve 25,000 troops and police.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed on Thursday the helicopters would not be used for offensive purposes but rather to help AU peacekeepers protect themselves.

Some African countries with troops in Darfur have threatened to withdraw their forces if they are not better equipped.

The underfinanced and underequipped AU force has been unable to stop violence in Darfur, where at least 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million forced to flee their homes, many to arid refugee camps.

Fighting began four years ago among the Arab-dominated government and militia who support them and African rebels, and it has spilled into neighbouring Chad.

Signs that the interim plan would be implemented came as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte met with Sudanese officials in Khartoum to make a fresh push for the deployment of U.N. troops in Darfur, where struggling AU forces have failed to ease violence hampering aid efforts.

"URGENCY"

"The humanitarian situation in Darfur calls urgently for the dispatch of such a force and I think it is important that that be done as soon as possible. That is the basic message that I bring with me," he told reporters after meeting Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol.

"The important point is the urgency of getting those peacekeeping forces to the region of Darfur as soon as possible."

Negroponte, who is on a regional tour to push for a resolution to the Darfur conflict, said Washington would put its financial weight behind U.N. peacekeepers.

But Khartoum has maintained its opposition to international troops, despite a U.S. threat to impose tough measures against Sudan, including sanctions.

Sudan says an international force would be tantamount to recolonisation and turn Darfur into an Iraq-style magnet for jihadist fighters. Critics say Sudan fears U.N. troops would enforce International Criminal Court warrants for the arrests of war crimes suspects.

At the heart of the current debate is a disagreement over the outcome of a November meeting in Addis Ababa.

The United Nations says Khartoum agreed then to a three-phased plan that would end with a hybrid AU-U.N. operation in Darfur. Sudan said it only agreed to the first two phases, which involved U.N. logistical and financial support.

"What has been agreed upon is that the operation should be African in nature. The United Nations has a role to play and this role has been clearly defined," said al-Sadig.

"We appreciate and we need the help of the United States but we are negotiating with the United Nations and the African Union."

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