U.S. and UN threaten Sudan with sanctions, UK sends a Minister

US diplomats have submitted a resolution project that urges Sudanese government to either arrest those behind the crimes in Darfur or face sanctions.

The resolution, being circulated to other UN Security Council members, would also impose an arms embargo on militia and rebels in Darfur region, reports BBC.

The Sudanese government is accused of backing the Janjaweed militia, which has killed thousands of people. While, the government says the militia are acting alone.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and Security Council nations stopped short of fixing a deadline for Khartoum to honor pledges to disarm the so-called Janjaweed militias, accused of a brutal campaign that has killed more than 10,000 and forced one million to flee their homes, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"The Sudanese government doesn't have forever," Annan told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.

"Serious crimes have been committed and there has been gross and systematic abuse of human rights. We, the international community, must intensify our efforts to protect the innocent in Darfur," he said.

Annan said he did not want to set an "artificial deadline" for further international action if it was determined that Sudan had not kept its commitment to ease the crisis. He said any such date was "a judgment call."

The Guardian newspaper cited a British official saying London was drawing up plans to send soldiers if needed. And Britain also said it will send Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to Sudan next month.