The Sudanese regime has warned of a "battle with the international community" after the United Nations Security Council voted to send peacekeepers to war-torn Darfur.

In comments sure to concern western powers, Ali Osman Taha, the Sudanese Vice President, also hailed Hezbollah for its "determination, patience and political will".

The Security Council wants UN peacekeepers to take over the longstanding African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur, if Khartoum approves.

Last night it overwhelmingly approved the deployment of a 22,600-strong UN force to western Sudan.

Twelve of the council’s 15 members voted in favour of the resolution, which states that the deployment would take place "on the basis of the acceptance of the (Sudanese) government". China, Russia and Qatar abstained.

Deploying a robust UN force is seen as crucial to the success of a fragile Darfur peace agreement signed by the Khartoum government and the main rebel faction in May.

The Security Council said that the ill-equipped and underfunded AU mission had been unable to prevent killings, rape and the internal displacement of civilians in Darfur. Many of the atrocities have been blamed on Islamic Janjaweed militias covertly backed by the Sudan government.

The United States pressed Khartoum to lift its opposition to a UN force. But Mr Taha told a rally in the North Kordofan State capital of El-Obeid yesterday: "We have options and plans for confronting the international intervention."

He praised the Muslim militant group Hezbollah, which recently spent 34 days at war with Israel in south Lebanon, and exalted the toll which it had "exacted in the ranks of the army of the Zionist enemy".

This had been due to the "determination, patience and political will the party enjoys", Mr Taha added.

The Vice-President added that "the battle with the international community requires patience and strict precautions."

He further called for "an effective working programme and strenuous action" to oppose the UN force.

Mr Taha was the third government official to speak out against the Security Council.

Osman Yusuf Kibir, the North Darfur governor, said that the Security Council resolution "lacks legitimacy and credibility", while state television quoted Majzoub al-Khalifa, a presidential adviser, as saying it was "entirely unacceptable".

"The resolution was based on the premise that security is deteriorating in Darfur," Mr Kibir said on Sudan television."This is a false assumption as security has improved and prevails all over the region."

But Karen Pierce, Britain’s deputy UN ambassador, said that the Darfur crisis "has gone on far too long."

The adoption of the text, she added, "sends a clear message on the need for an unbiased, well-equipped third party to implement the DPA (Darfur Peace Agreement) and ensure the protection of Darfurs civilians."

In Washington, a top State Department official pointed out that Khartoum’s agreement was not needed to reinforce the UN mission in Sudan. "The (UN) resolution invites Sudanese consent - nothing requires Sudanese consent," said Kristen Silverberg.

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