UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council made a fresh push for heightened preparations to send a UN force along Sudan's borders with Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) to protect civilians caught in the Darfur conflict.

Displaced Chadians gather in Koukou camp, 45 km from Goz-Beida, in the Ouadai region of Chad in 2006. [AFP]

In a statement read by its president for the month, Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin, the council "reiterates its concern about the persistent instability along the borders between the Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic and about the threat this poses to the safety of the civilian population and the conduct of humanitarian operations."

It expressed "readiness to consider the possible establishment of a mission intended to contribute to improve security on the Chad and Central African side of the border with the Sudan and to foster regional peace and stability through the monitoring of cross-border activities" between the three countries.

It asked UN chief Ban Ki-moon to submit, by the middle of next month, a new set of updated and finalized recommendations on the force's size, structure and mandate.

The council also asked Ban "to deploy as soon as possible an advance team to Chad and the Central African Republic" and welcomed his intention to authorize "the immediate return of the technical assessment mission to the region in order to complete its observations that were curtailed on security grounds."

Last November, the United Nations sent a team to the area to assess how to protect refugees and displaced people in Chad and CAR from a spillover of fighting in Darfur.

But because of the fighting and political turmoil, the team was unable to get to many areas it had planned to visit.

The Darfur conflict has resulted in the deaths of about 200,000 people and displaced two million more in nearly four years, according to UN figures disputed by Sudanese authorities.

In a report written last month, then UN secretary general Kofi Annan warned against deploying a UN force to Chad and CAR, saying the force could not be effective without all sides in the conflict agreeing to a ceasefire and starting peace talks.

The report also recommended that any UN force sent to the region should be "robust," well-equipped and able to provide monitoring and "protection, within its capabilities, of civilians under imminent threat."

Khartoum has rejected allegations that his country is backing cross-border by Chadian and CAR insurgents and in turn accuses Chad and CAR of supporting rebels in Darfur.

Late last year, UN diplomats mulled the possibility of deploying a police force to Chad to protect the more than 200,000 Sudanese refugees and more than 50,000 internally displaced persons.