The aid camps of Darfur vary from the dry and dusty of the heat-scorched plains around its main town of El Fasher, to the cool and leafy shelters built among Jebel Mara's mountain villages

But the plea from the frightened women and the confused old men is always the same: when is the United Nations coming to save us?

A force deployed by the African Union has made little impact. Overstretched and under-funded it is unable to protect its own soldiers, let alone more than two and half million people forced from their homes by government Antonov bombers and the feared janjawid militias.

This month, after four years of a conflict that has claimed at least two hundred thousand lives, the war-weary people of Darfur got their wish.

Khartoum, under mounting international pressure, gave its blessing to what has become known as a hybrid force under the control of both the AU and UN.

Today's meeting in Paris will be dominated by discussion of the 20,000-strong force's mandate, make-up and timetable.

Optimists believe the force could be deployed early next year. But the omens are not good.

The hybrid force is the final step in a three-phase plan to support the beleaguered African soldiers. Steps one and two are far from complete.

The AU and UN are squabbling over which organisation is supposed to provide office space for 2500 extra staff sent as part of phase one.

Anyway there is no guarantee that Khartoum will come good on the deal, having already backtracked once after appearing to allow a hybrid force last November.

For now though the Sudanese government has got its way. It has managed to shelve a UN Security Council resolution authorising a purely UN deployment in favour of a joint mission.

Peace talks have been forgotten in the rush to send soldiers.

And Khartoum has bought itself time — heading off the threat of sanctions — as yet another summit ponders the way forward.

Meanwhile the Antonov bombers keep flying over Darfur.

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