The European Union could soon push the United Nations to impose sanctions against Sudan to try to force the country to end the conflict in the Darfur region, where aid agencies believe a humanitarian catastrophe is under way.

The EU foreign ministers issued a statement on Monday that they were "alarmed by reports of massive human rights violations ... including systematic rape of women."

Sudanese boy in the Koumouangou refugee camp in Chad near the Sudan border. (AP photo)
Sudanese boy in the Koumouangou refugee camp in Chad near the Sudan border. (AP photo)

The fighting in the Darfur province has killed about 30,000 people. Another million have fled their homes and now live in squalid refugee camps. Yet another 2.2 million lack food and medical care.

"The risk is very high for a potential catastrophe," said Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, on Monday.

The EU officials called on Sudan to "ensure that these violations stop with immediate effect," threatening unspecified "appropriate further steps."




Two rebel groups from the region's African tribes took up arms 15 months ago to fight over land and resources with Arab militias known as Janjaweed.

The Janjaweed then apparently began a campaign to drive black Africans out of the region.

Humanitarian groups, the EU and the U.S. Congress have all accused the Sudanese government of backing the militias, which the government denies.

Congress last week called the atrocities genocide and urged the White House to follow suit. Earlier this month UN Secretary General Kofi Annan toured the region and said the violence approached ethnic cleansing.

A UN convention calls on the international community to prevent and punish acts of genocide.

A UN plan is in place to send peacekeepers to Darfur by the end of the year.