African nations demand action in Sudan

The African Union demanded today that Sudan arrest and prosecute Arab militiamen accused of committing atrocities in western Sudan, but said the violence in the Darfur region did not constitute a genocide.

The demand came as Sudan agreed to allow the deployment of 300 African Union troops in Darfur, where thousands of people have been killed and more than a million black Africans have fled attacks by Arab militiamen known as the Janjaweed, said AU spokesman Desmond Orjiako.