CAIRO, Aug 8: Arab states rallied around Sudan on Sunday in its bid to avoid United Nations sanctions over atrocities in the Darfur region, saying the Khartoum government needed more time to resolve the crisis.

"We call on the international community to provide an adequate timeframe to enable the Sudanese government to meet its commitments" to the United Nations, said a draft resolution submitted to Arab foreign ministers holding an extraordinary meeting in the Egyptian capital.

The draft text by the Arab League, whose 22 members include Sudan, asked the international community to "reject any threat of military intervention" in Darfur, where up to 50,000 people have died and around 1.2 million have been displaced, while around 200,000 are languishing in camps in neighboring Chad.

Thirteen Arab League foreign ministers attended the meeting. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit had told reporters earlier in the day that Sudan may need up to 120 days to bring the situation under control.

The resolution, passed on July 30, gave Khartoum 30 days to resolve the humanitarian crisis in the western region or face possible sanctions. "The Darfur crisis is very complicated," Abul Gheit said.

"I cannot imagine that any country, even the United States, can solve this crisis within 30 days." He said that "the brothers in Sudan are now proving" that they are credible with their response to the resolution.

Khartoum has notably agreed to disarm government-allied Arab militias, called Janjaweed, accused of atrocities in Darfur, and an African Union (AU) team backed by 300 security personnel is already monitoring a shaky truce.

The Arab meeting comes a day after the AU announced fresh peace talks between Khartoum and the two Darfur rebel movements, set for Aug 23 in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

Both sides have violated a cease fire signed on April 8, complicating efforts by aid agencies to deliver supplies to a region the size of France. Abul Gheit said the UN resolution's deadline can be "extended from 30 days to 90 days and 120 days, as long as the credibility remains".

The draft resolution urges Arab countries to "totally support the African Union in its efforts to resolve the crisis" and calls especially on those who are AU member states "to participate effectively in the team of ceasefire observers and the protection forces of this team".

The Arab League is "prepared to take part in any mediation, under the aegis of the AU, between the Sudanese government and the Darfur rebels", the resolution says.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail said at the start of the talks: "We will ask the Arab group for all the political support necessary to halt all attempts to impose sanctions."

Mr Ismail also said his country had enough troops of its own on the ground. "We do not need non-Sudanese troops. We need observers and maybe troops to protect them," he said. "What we ask for is to reinforce the means of the government."

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's envoy Jan Pronk said the United Nations needed the support of Arab and African states for the action plan adopted with Sudan to resolve the crisis.

He told reporters: "Security will not come about only through the efforts of the (Sudanese) government but also the international community, by offering financial and human support through the presence of international observers, notably Arab and African." -AFP