By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 28, 2004
UNITED NATIONS, July 27 (AP) - The United States circulated a revised draft resolution on Sudan to Security Council members on Tuesday, keeping the threat of sanctions and calling on the government to disarm Arab militias that have been blamed for killing thousands in Darfur, in the west.
Sudan's foreign minister, Mustafa Osman Ismail, said his country would retaliate against any foreign troops, reflecting concerns among some Arabs that the United States will follow its invasion of Iraq with an attempt to remake the region.
The new text increases pressure on the Sudanese government to stop the violence, but delegates opposed to the inclusion of a threat of sanctions said it needed more work. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who spent the weekend calling his counterparts on the issue, spoke to Spain's foreign minister on Tuesday.
The new draft, the second in less than a week, was discussed by members of the Security Council on Tuesday and more consultations were scheduled Wednesday. Stuart Holliday, the deputy United States ambassador, said he hoped for a vote on Thursday or Friday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/28/international/africa/28suda.html