Sudan has agreed to a revised plan for a joint UN-African Union (AU) peacekeeping force to be sent to war-torn Darfur, AU sources say.

Under the new plan, the AU will run day-to-day operations, while the UN is expected to have overall control of between 17,000 to 19,000 peacekeepers.

Earlier, Sudan's foreign minister said that Sudan would accept peacekeepers made up of non-African troops.

The current AU force of 7,000 has struggled to contain the violence.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has hailed the agreement and stressed the need for an immediate comprehensive ceasefire in the strife-torn region, AFP news agency reports, quoting a statement by UN spokeswoman Michele Montas.

'Fine print'

But US officials remained skeptical over the deal.

Sean McCormack, US State Department spokesman, said: "President Bashir has made promises before about accepting an AU/UN hybrid force, but there's always the fine print".