UN begins security checks as Darfur deadline looms

The United Nations begins a three-day fact-finding mission in troubled Darfur today to establish whether the Sudanese government has fulfilled its pledges to improve security and rein in Arab militia accused of months of atrocities.

Three UN teams, accompanied by Sudanese government officials, will fan out across the western region, before presenting their assessment to UN secretary-general Kofi Annan on August 31.