KHARTOUM, July 27: The Sudanese cabinet put all government institutions on alert on Tuesday after vowing to face down any foreign intervention in the Darfur crisis. Ministers ordered the "political and strategic mobilisation of all government institutions", Agriculture Minister Majzub al-Khalifa Ahmed told reporters after an emergency cabinet meeting.

The toughening of Khartoum's position came as US Secretary of State Colin Powell flew into Egypt with the Darfur crisis high on his talks agenda and after the United States told UN Security Council members to be ready to vote this week on a resolution warning Sudan to protect Darfur civilians, despite objections from China and others.

The US-drafted resolution threatens unspecified sanctions against Sudan in 30 days if Khartoum does not prosecute Arab militias, called Janjaweed, blamed for murder, rape and pillaging. In the meantime, the measure puts a weapons embargo on armed groups in Darfur.

Sudanese ministers also decided to "strongly resist all (UN Security Council) resolutions calling for despatching international forces to Darfur," said Ahmed, who is Khartoum's pointman in the bloody conflict with ethnic minority rebels in the restive western region.

"The government will from now on harden its attitude in rejection of any foreign intervention in Darfur and will notify the international community of this position," the minister warned.

The cabinet's announcements came hot on the heels of a stark warning from Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail in Ankara that Khartoum was prepared to face down any foreign intervention in Darfur, by force if necessary.

"We are not looking for confrontation, and we hope that we will not be pushed to that," Ismail told reporters in Ankara. "But, if we are being forced to do so - if we are being attacked - definitely we are not going to sit silent, we will retaliate or we will hit back," he said. -Reuters