Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said Wednesday that African Union forces can maintain order in Darfur and rebuffed calls for the use of United Nations forces.

"Our experience with U.N. operations in the world is not encouraging," al-Bashir told an Associated Press reporter Wednesday at his residence.

"There are sufficient forces in the Sudan from African countries to maintain order and they can provide order. All we need is funding for the African troops."

Al-Bashir has resisted intense international pressure to allow U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur, saying they would be "colonialist."