The Sudanese government and the United Nations have reached an agreement on a plan to disarm the Arab militia in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail and UN special envoy Jan Pronk agreed Wednesday on detailed steps to be taken within next 30 days "on how to begin to disarm the Janjaweed and other outlawed groups, on improving security in Darfur, and on addressing the humanitarian crisis," said UN spokeswoman Denise Cook Thursday.

The Arab militia organization, known as the Janjaweed, has been accused of cruelly attacking black Africans in Darfur and blamed for the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the region.

If the Sudanese government approves the agreement and if it is implemented, there would be indeed substantial progress in the Darfur crisis, said Cook.

The meeting between Ismail and Ponk started last Sunday, which was part of the Joint Implementation Mechanism set up to ensure compliance with commitments made by Sudan and the United Nations in an agreement on July 3 to ease the crisis.

Meanwhile, according to the pro-government Sudan Media Center Thursday, the Sudanese government is to start disarming the Arab militia next week as demanded by the UN Security Council.

Brigadier General Jamal al-Hueres, police chief of North Darfur state, was quoted as saying that "the security and judicial commissions are going to start work on disarming the uncontrolled militias in Darfur next week."

The disarmament of the militias "will be carried out both on a voluntary basis and through searches carried out by the police," he added.

However, Sudanese Minister of Information Al-Zhawi Ibrahim Malik warned Tuesday that the government would deal with "extreme severity with those who refused to hand over their weapons."

On Thursday, the African Union (AU) consulted with officials from the European Union, the United States and other international organizations on the issue of funding more troops to Darfur.

A United Nations team sent by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will also be in Addis Ababa and is scheduled to meet AU officials Friday helping the AU prepare for the deployment of the force.

Earlier, the AU has decided on an expansion of its 300 protection force to the Darfur region to about 2,000, and Nigeria is to send a battalion to join the peacekeeping force.

The Darfur crisis has escalated into what the United Nations called the world's current worst humanitarian crisis since the indigenous revolted against the Khartoum government in February 2003 as over 10,000 people were killed and more than one million displaced.

The UN Security Council passed a resolution last Friday that threatened to impose economic and diplomatic sanctions on Sudan if it fails to rein in the marauding Arab militia in Darfur.

The resolution required Annan to report monthly to the council on Sudan's compliance. His first report will be due on Aug. 30.

However, it has sparked a state-orchestrated protest in Khartoum on Wednesday, where 100,000 protested on the streets denouncing the United States-backed UN resolution.

Protesters rejected foreign intervention in the war-torn Darfur,waving banners saying "No to Foreign Intervention" and "Darfur is the Graveyard of the United States."

Source: Xinhua