Sudan is threatened with U.N. sanctions

The Sudanese foreign minister compared the situation to Iraq's.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sudan must act quickly to disarm Arab militias in its western Darfur region or face possible U.N. sanctions, stepping up pressure on Khartoum despite its accusation of U.S. and British meddling in the crisis.
Powell met with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday for the second time in three weeks to discuss what he called a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Darfur, where pro-government Janjaweed militias have been accused of killing up to 30,000 civilians, most of them black villagers, and forcing more than 1 million to flee their homes in the 15-month conflict.
U.S. officials and humanitarian groups accuse the Sudanese government of backing the militias -- a contention Khartoum denies.
"They have been supporting and sustaining some of these Janjaweed elements, and this has to end," Powell told reporters after meeting Annan.
"Since they turned it on, they can turn it off," he added. "We made it clear to them that there will be consequences if it is not turned off."
Powell and Annan made parallel visits to Sudan earlier this month. Sudan promised in a July 3 agreement with Annan to rein in the Janjaweed, improve security and provide better access for humanitarian workers and African Union monitors.
Powell said access to the region has since improved, but "we are still ... not satisfied with the security situation."
What Sudan said
Earlier Thursday, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail accused the United States and Britain of meddling in the crisis, saying their increased pressure was the same tactic they used against Iraq.
He warned against any international intervention and told a news conference in Paris that threatening Sudan with sanctions would only complicate matters.
Annan and Powell dismissed the accusations.
"One person's meddling is another person's attempt to save people who are in desperate trouble," Powell retorted.
Annan said he told the Sudanese that "if they do the right thing, if they protect their population and bring the situation under control, nobody would meddle and they would come under no pressure, so the solution is really in their hands if they think the outside world is meddling."
Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday Britain had a "moral responsibility" to act. Asked about possible military intervention, Blair told his monthly news conference: "We rule nothing out, but we are not at that stage yet."
But Powell rejected suggestions of military action.
"This is a very large area. There is not a simple military solution that is at hand," he said. "This is a matter for the Sudanese government to handle."
The United States circulated a revised draft Security Council resolution Thursday that for the first time directly threatens sanctions against the Sudanese government.
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