British Prime Minister Tony Blair has urged the government of Sudan to allow the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces in the troubled region of Darfur.
Mr Blair called for Sudan to halt military action in the area and said that, in the coming weeks, he would propose an incentive package for the country as part of a new initiative to end the crisis.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than two million displaced by three years of fighting in Darfur.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has warned that the violence could have a major impact on the whole of north-east Africa.
He said the instability in Darfur was already spilling over into the neighbouring Central African Republic.
