Deal to boost Darfur aid supplies

Monitors are investigating who burned villages in Darfur

Sudan's government and rebels have agreed to give aid agencies better access to more than a million displaced people in the Darfur region.

The deal was reached at talks in Nigeria, only after more controversial topics, like security, were postponed.

The United Nations Security Council is being briefed on a report which criticises Sudan's handling of the Darfur conflict.

Earlier Sudan's UN ambassador described the report as balanced.

AFP news agency reports that the rebels refuse to discuss disarming at the same time as the pro-government Arab militias accused of the worst atrocities.

The government insists that both sides must lay down their weapons at the same time and blames the rebel for starting the conflict last year.

The humanitarian agreement includes measures on free movement and access, protection of civilians and the role of the international community.

According to the BBC's Anna Borzello in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, many of the points have also been agreed in previous protocols.

No concrete steps have been taken to bring to justice or even identify any of the militia leaders UN report UN Security Council report (157K) Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Download the reader here

But observers insist the very fact that delegates have stayed committed to the talks is a cause for optimism, our correspondent says.

The Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustapha Osman Ismael said that the UN report acknowledges that humanitarian access has improved since July, when the UN passed a resolution giving Khartoum until 31 August to improve the security situation in Darfur.

Up to 50,000 people have been killed in Darfur, following a campaign by Arab militias against black Africans.

"I wouldn't expect the Security Council to say the situation is now normal in Darfur, but I expect them to say that the government of Sudan has showed its readiness to co-operate with the international community," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

Ambassador Elfatih Erwa said Sudan had not been able to do all that the UN wanted because of what he called environment and circumstances.

In a BBC interview, Sudan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Najib Al-Kheir Abd-Al-Wahab, said security was a complicated process, but he insisted that the Sudanese government could maintain law and order in Darfur.

Definitive report

The UN's envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, presented the report to the Security Council, and said attacks continued and "the vast majority of armed militias has not been disarmed".

The report says despite "some progress" in improving security and helping the distribution of humanitarian relief, "the government of Sudan has not been able to resolve the crisis in Darfur, and has not met some of the core commitments it has made".

"Similarly, no concrete steps have been taken to bring to justice or even identify any of the militia leaders."

DARFUR CONFLICT More than 1m displaced Up to 50,000 killed More at risk from disease and starvation Arab militias accused of ethnic cleansing Sudan blames rebels for starting conflict Q&A: Has security improved? Spotlight catches Sudan's red tape

The BBC's Stephen Gibbs, at the UN in New York, says it is being seen as the definitive report to date on the situation in Darfur.

At the end of July the UN called on Sudan to rein in the Janjaweed militia blamed for atrocities in the region, or face unspecified measures.

The UN gave itself 30 days to report on whether the demands had been met.

There has been argument within the UN over whether Sudan should face sanctions.

The report, prepared by Mr Pronk on behalf of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, does not mention sanctions but calls for a "substantially increased international presence" in Darfur as quickly as possible.

The UN and the African Union have been working on a plan for the current small observer mission to be expanded to a force of 3,000 troops and 1,100 police, with a wider role.

So far, Nigeria and Rwanda have each sent about 150 troops to Darfur to guard ceasefire monitors.

Threats remain

The Darfur crisis erupted when two African rebel factions took up arms against Khartoum in February 2003, alleging they were being ignored by the Arab government.

The UN's emergency relief co-ordinator says life for many thousands of people in Darfur region remains desperately precarious.

More aid is still needed in Darfur

Jan Egeland said civilians still faced the threat of "rampant rape and killings" by pro-government militias.

On Wednesday the UN World Food Programme (WFP) appealed for $12m (£6.7m) to help feed tens of thousands of young children and pregnant mothers it fears will otherwise die.

Other aid agencies have also been stepping up their programmes - Unicef says it has vaccinated up to 50,000 children against polio in Darfur, sometimes reaching remote areas by camel and donkey.

Meanwhile, a group of six aid workers, missing since Saturday in rebel-controlled territory in the north of Darfur, were said by the WFP to have been released unharmed on Wednesday.