The United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, has urged the UN Security Council to take action to halt a surge of violence in Sudan's Darfur region.
Presenting his latest report on the troubled region, Mr Annan said that too little had been done to punish those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity that appeared to be occurring there ‘on a large and systematic scale’.
Mr Annan said that attacks were on the rise on all sides in the region, and there was no verified progress in disarming fighters as both the rebels and the Sudanese government had promised.
Previous UNSC resolutions have threatened sanctions, including possible measures targeting Sudan's oil exports, if the government in Khartoum failed to meet commitments to end attacks on civilians and rein in Arab militias.
Separately, African Union mediators in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, have said that they hope to secure a peace deal between the Sudan government and rebels by the end of the week.
