A draft resolution introduced by the United States to step up pressure on Sudan over the crisis in Darfur met strong opposition at the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.

The 15-nation council was divided over the US proposal, with Pakistan, Algeria and Russia voicing objections to it and European Union countries such as Britain and Germany throwing weight behind it, council diplomats said.

The measure, formally tabled to the council at a closed session Thursday afternoon, endorses a rapid enlargement of the African Union monitoring mission in Darfur and threatens sanctions on Sudan's oil sector and individual members of the government.

It demands Sudan accept the expansion of the African mission and comply with a previous UN resolution, which calls for the disarmament of Arab militias in Darfur and the arrest of their leaders responsible for atrocities against civilians in the region.

Emerging from the council consultation, US Ambassador to the UN John Danforth told reporters that the US wants the council to vote on the draft as early as next week.

"My hope is that we'll pass a resolution next week. I think time is of the essence, and I think every day counts," he said, adding that the US proposal is aimed at bringing the bloodshed in Darfur to an early end.

"The government of Sudan is not going to respond if there's no pressure," he said. "That possibility must be out there."

But Ambassador Abdallah Baali of Algeria said a number of council members objected to sanctions on Sudan. Algeria is the sole Arab nation on the council.

Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram hinted that his country would likely abstain if the resolution was put to a vote without being modified.

"We abstained on the last resolution and this one goes even further. At the moment I don't see the need for the resolution," he said.

The Security Council adopted a resolution on July 30, giving Sudan 30 days to disarm Arab militias accused of marauding and killing black Africans in Darfur, an impoverished region the size of France.

The new US resolution says the Sudanese government "has failed to fully comply" with the July resolution, despite "limited improvement" in expanding access for humanitarian aid to Darfur.

Darfur, located in west Sudan and bordering Chad, has been plagued by an 18-month conflict between two rebel forces, formed by local black tribes, and the government and Arab militiamen. Khartoum has been accused of conniving at militias' brutal attacks on villages of black Africans, a claim vehemently denied by the government.

The Sudanese government and the two rebel forces -- Sudan's Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement -- are currently holding peace talks in Nigeria under the auspices of the African Union.