US Secretary of State Colin Powell says he will soon decide whether the violence against black villagers in Sudan's western Darfur region by pro-government Arab militias amounts to "genocide".
Speaking at the Journalists of Color Convention in Washington Thursday, Mr. Powell cautioned that the decision will not change the current U.S. approach to the crisis. He said the United States has been pressing the Sudanese government to control the militiamen and open Darfur to relief workers and supplies.
The United Nations estimates at least 30,000 people have died in Darfur and more than one million others have been displaced by the violence there.
The Sudanese government and the U.N. said Thursday they reached an agreement on plans to disarm the Arab militias and open the region to relief workers.
Information for this report is provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.