The Sudanese government significantly raised the stakes in Khartoum’s stand-off with the international community, calling yesterday for the AU to withdraw its troops from all of Darfur.

The Sudanese government has launched a major offensive against rebels in war-torn Darfur in recent days, human rights activists and African Union officials said tonight.

DARFUR rebels said Sudanese planes and troops attacked villages in the western region yesterday, hours before the UN Security Council voted on the deployment of UN peacekeepers to the region.