The commander of African Union forces in Darfur, Gen Martin Luther Agwai, has said his troops are outnumbered and outgunned by rebels and militias.
Gen Agwai said that is why an AU base in the Sudanese region was overrun on Saturday with 10 soldiers killed.
He told a group of elder statesmen visiting Darfur that he did not expect to have any more troops until next year when a joint AU-UN force is deployed.
The UN Security Council has condemned the attack on the AU soldiers.
"We are outgunned, we are outnumbered and we can be overrun very quickly," Gen Agwai told the delegation of statesmen, led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The "Elders" have been visiting Darfur to try to find solutions to the conflict.
Rebels blamed
Gen Agwai said the AU detachment at the base in Haskanita had been caught off guard as they were conducting dusk prayers.
He said no African country could provide enough properly equipped troops for the mission in Darfur.
About 7,000 AU troops from 26 countries are currently patrolling the region, an area roughly the size of France.
The African Union is reviewing the force's mandate to allow it more scope to protect itself.
Gen Agwai said he did not expect any improvement in the situation on the ground in Darfur until next year when a 26,000-strong joint AU-UN force is to be deployed under his command.
Darfur rebels are being blamed for the Haskanita attack but it is not clear which of the many groups carried it out.
The UN Security Council has condemned the attack but council members wrangled over the language of their statement.
South Africa wanted it called a terrorist attack but the US, Britain and France urged caution on naming those who might be behind the killings, saying it is not yet clear who carried them out, says the BBC's Laura Trevelyan at the UN in New York.
The UN and the AU are investigating the attack.
At least 200,000 people have died and some 2m forced from their homes during the four year conflict in Darfur.
He told a group of elder statesmen visiting Darfur that he did not expect to have any more troops until next year when a joint AU-UN force is deployed.
The UN Security Council has condemned the attack on the AU soldiers.
"We are outgunned, we are outnumbered and we can be overrun very quickly," Gen Agwai told the delegation of statesmen, led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The "Elders" have been visiting Darfur to try to find solutions to the conflict.
Rebels blamed
Gen Agwai said the AU detachment at the base in Haskanita had been caught off guard as they were conducting dusk prayers.
He said no African country could provide enough properly equipped troops for the mission in Darfur.
About 7,000 AU troops from 26 countries are currently patrolling the region, an area roughly the size of France.
The African Union is reviewing the force's mandate to allow it more scope to protect itself.
Gen Agwai said he did not expect any improvement in the situation on the ground in Darfur until next year when a 26,000-strong joint AU-UN force is to be deployed under his command.
Darfur rebels are being blamed for the Haskanita attack but it is not clear which of the many groups carried it out.
The UN Security Council has condemned the attack but council members wrangled over the language of their statement.
South Africa wanted it called a terrorist attack but the US, Britain and France urged caution on naming those who might be behind the killings, saying it is not yet clear who carried them out, says the BBC's Laura Trevelyan at the UN in New York.
The UN and the AU are investigating the attack.
At least 200,000 people have died and some 2m forced from their homes during the four year conflict in Darfur.
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