The US and Britain pressed Sudan’s government and Darfur rebels to meet today’s deadline for a peace deal, even as ground units stepped up fighting that has killed at least 180,000 people and left millions more homeless.

The Red Cross said today it had begun airlifting food supplies to refugees in the violence-wracked Darfur region, saying a rising number of attacks on aid convoys made it too risky to move the food by road.

The UN World Food Program suspended food convoys to the Darfur region in western Sudan after rebel forces attacked the market town of Ghubaysh and the government retaliated, UN humanitarian officials said.

THE Sudanese army and police have surrounded refugee camps in the war- torn region of Darfur and denied access to humanitarian groups, the UN said yesterday.

The Sudanese army and police have surrounded several refugee camps in the war-torn region of Darfur and denied access to humanitarian groups, the UN said today.

A PLANE carrying emergency food and equipment took off for Sudan today where thousands remain in the grip of a humanitarian crisis.