The United States has dropped the controversial word "sanctions" from a UN Security Council resolution on the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, west Sudan, in a bid to win enough votes, the US ambassador to the United Nations said on Thursday.

The 15-nation council is scheduled to vote on the new text Friday morning, John Danforth told reporters after a closed council meeting.

The original text threatened that the council would take measures, including sanctions, against Sudan if it failed to disarm Arab militia in Darfur and prosecute its leaders within 30 days.

The new version softens the threat, saying the council would consider actions, including measures as provided for in Article 41 of the UN Charter, on the Sudanese government in the event of non-compliance.

Under Article 41, the measures may include economic sanctions, interruption of communications, and the severance of diplomatic relations.

Danforth said some council members could not accept the word "sanctions," but he insisted that the amended provision means "exactly the same thing" as the previous one.

The amendment, the fourth since the resolution was introduced on June 30, was made to meet opposition of Russia, Pakistan, China,Algeria and three other council members, which have appealed for more time for Sudan to fulfill its promises to rein in the Arab militia, known as the Janjaweed.

The militia has been blamed for brutal attacks on black Africans, labelled by some Western countries as ethnic cleansing or genocide. It was said to be allies of the Sudanese government in a 17-month conflict with two rebel groups formed by black tribes in Darfur. The allegations were dismissed by Khartoum, which listed the Janjaweed as an outlaw.

The Sudanese government has accused Western countries of meddling in its internal affairs, saying sanctions will only hurt its efforts to stabilize the situation in Darfur.

The resolution, which has the backing of Britain and Germany, requests UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to report to the council within 30 days on Sudan's compliance with the two demands.

The Darfur conflict has left up to 30,000 people dead and more than 1 million displaced, of whom some 150,000 took refugee in neighboring Chad.

Source: Xinhua