Brown and Sarkozy make Darfur pledge

Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are demanding "quick and decisive" international action to secure a ceasefire in Darfur.

They condemned the crisis in the western region of Sudan as "completely unacceptable".

Mr Brown and Mr Sarkozy also threatened further sanctions against those who continue to fight or obstruct political and humanitarian efforts.

They pledged: "It is the combination of a ceasefire, peacekeeping force, economic reconstruction and the threat of sanctions that can bring a political solution to the region - and we will spare no effort in making this happen."

Their comments came in a joint article published in both French and English newspapers.

Last month the UN Security Council backed a joint British and French resolution to send up to 26,000 peacekeeping troops to halt the bloodshed which has cost an estimated 200,000 lives and created two million refugees.

It is the first joint peacekeeping mission by the UN and African Union (AU) and troops will start arriving in the conflict-torn region in the next few weeks.

The Prime Minister has described the conflict in Darfur, which has been raging since 2003, as the "greatest humanitarian disaster" currently facing the world.

In the newspaper article, he and Mr Sarkozy acknowledge "important progress" in recent months.

But they warned: "There is still a gap between the efforts pursued by the international community and the dramatic situation that remains on the ground.

"The pain of the people of Darfur demands quick and decisive action from the international community."

The two leaders said the UN-AU mission was not an end in itself but "just the starting point" of international efforts.

They added: "We cannot wait a moment longer for intense international action to secure a ceasefire.

"That is why we are determined and fully committed to step up our actions over the crisis in Darfur and the region."

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