'No progress' on Darfur disaster

The UN has called Darfur the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe

The international community is "getting nowhere" with the crisis in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, the US says.

All parties are "complicit in the disaster", US ambassador to the UN John Danforth told journalists.

He was speaking following a sobering briefing to the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Darfur.

About 70,000 people have been killed and more than two million made homeless as a result of violence between rebels and pro-government militias.

The latest report on Darfur, by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, speaks of a "continued breakdown in law and order" with looting and abductions.

[The two sides] sign agreements which apparently mean nothing at all John Danforth US ambassador to the UN

Some 22% of children under five in the region are malnourished, it said.

Commenting on the document, Mr Danforth said: "We're getting nowhere with respect to Darfur. We've tried everything."

He added: "The rebels and the government and the militia - all sides - are complicit in the disaster.

"They sign agreements which apparently mean nothing at all."

The civil war began in early 2003, when rebel groups accusing Khartoum of neglecting the region began attacking government targets.

Q&A: Darfur crisis

The government responded by mobilising Arab militias, which have been accused of widespread atrocities.

The two sides have been engaged in peace talks, which led to a ceasefire agreement last month. Observers say it is not being respected.

However on Tuesday, Sudanese Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Mohamed Yusif Abdallah said he expected a peace deal for the region within two months.

The UN Security Council has already passed two resolutions urging the government to disarm Arab militias.

But aid agencies and human rights groups say they have failed to calm the violence.