UN chief warns Sudan over Darfur

More than a million people in Darfur have fled their homes

The UN Secretary General has said Sudan is not doing enough to protect people in the Darfur region, where widespread atrocities have been alleged.

Kofi Annan said the world could not sit back if the Khartoum authorities failed to carry out a pledge to disarm the pro-government Janjaweed militia.

They are accused of killing thousands of non-Arab people.

The UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution which would impose sanctions if the violence continues.

More than a million people have been driven from their homes in Darfur.

The Janjaweed - an Arab militia - are accused of carrying out a campaign of terror and using mass rape against villagers.

At least 10,000 have been killed.

Mr Annan spoke as his special representative for Darfur, Jan Pronk, briefed members of the Security Council.

The secretary general said the people in the region were right to be nervous about the continuing violence.

"It is clear that serious crimes have been committed and there has been gross and systematic abuse of human rights," he said.

"We, the international community, must intensify our efforts to protect the innocent in Darfur," Mr Annan added.

Pressure

Earlier this month the Sudanese government agreed to disarm the Janjaweed and other armed groups.

It also said it would take steps to protect those displaced.

In an interview with the BBC, Sudanese Interior Minister Abdulrahim Mohammed Hussein denied there had been massacres in Darfur.

"Disarming the militias is a long process that required patience," he said.

"Implementation of these commitments has been so far uneven," Mr Annan said.

The government is being accused of arming the dreaded Janjaweed

He is due to meet US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday to discuss the Darfur crisis.

"It's time to get together now to look very carefully at the situation," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

On Tuesday Mr Powell has said the international community was "completely dissatisfied" with Sudan.

"Not enough is being done to break the hold of the Janjaweed," he said on Tuesday. "Rapes are still occurring."

The US drafted a UN resolution that would impose arms and travel restrictions on Janjaweed leaders.

Washington also warned that these sanctions could be extended to others who had backed them.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said his government would "keep up pressure" on Sudan "to make sure that they are dealing with the real problems that are giving rise to the violence and the ethnic cleansing".

He is also considering plans for a possible British military engagement.

"The prime minister has asked to look at all options that will save lives and not to rule out the military services," said a UK government official quoted by The Guardian newspaper.

The UN has spoken of a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Darfur but said there was not yet enough evidence to call it a genocide.

The United Nations' World Food Programme director James Morris says aid workers are now finding it easier to gain access to Darfur.

Mr Morris told the BBC he thought the improvements were due to the increasing international pressure being put on the Sudanese government.

The conflict in the region started last year, after a rebel group began attacking government targets saying the region was being neglected by Khartoum.

The rebels say the government is oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs.