Sudan expects to satisfy UN on Darfur

Sudan said today it expected to meet UN demands to make progress in security and human rights in its troubled Darfur region and avoid sanctions.

Sudan has about three weeks left to show it is serious about disarming Arab militias in Darfur, where the United Nations says conflict has triggered the world's worst humanitarian crisis, or face possible sanctions.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters in Cairo the United Nations wanted to see "substantive achievement" in the area of security, in the political arena and in human rights, and he expected Sudan could achieve this.

"We have a shortage of time but we think we can do it," he said.

Mr Ismail also rejected the UN's estimate that 50,000 people had died as a direct or indirect result of the conflict in Darfur, where two rebel groups took up arms against the government in February last year.

"Those who say 30,000 and 50,000, we challenge them to bring their names, their families, their tribes, their graves," he said.