STOCKHOLM- Norway is ready to send 200 engineers to the war-torn Darfur region in Sudan by the end of the year, said reports reaching here on Wednesday.

These engineers from the Norwegian army will be among the 26, 000 troops in Darfur, under a joint United Nations and African Union mandate, Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported.

Officials from the Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the Norwegian soldiers could be in Darfur as early as the end of this year.

"Along with Sweden we have a continuous and constructive dialogue with the UN, and plan to send our joint contribution of engineers when the mandate and the other premises are established, " said Sunniva Tofte, senior advisor in the Ministry of Defense.

Meanwhile, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said that Sweden and Norway will consider sending a joint group to participate in the new peacekeeping force for Darfur that was approved by the UN.

According to Danish news agency Ritzau, Denmark has also expressed its wish to contribute.

"Denmark will and should certainly participate in the mission. But it is too early to point out what the needs are, and what we will contribute with," Danish Minister of Defense Soren Gade told Ritzau.

The UN Security Council voted to send peacekeepers to Darfur late Tuesday evening.