Government Pledges to Disarm Arab Militias

Sudan pledged to disarm Arab militias that have driven more than 1 million Africans from their homes in the Darfur region and to accept human rights monitors in the remote western area.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan secured the promise at talks in Khartoum with President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir and other Sudanese leaders.

The United States had raised the possibility of sanctions against Sudan if the government did not stop the militia attacks.