DARFUR MILITIAS IN DEADLY ATTACKS !

More than two million people have been displaced during the conflict. About 30 people have been killed in Sudan's Darfur region, when pro-government militias raided a village, peacekeepers say. Armed men on horses and camels rode into the village of Sirba, near the Chad border, killing those they found, say UN and African Union officials.

Meanwhile, the UN has offered at least $77m to help AU peacekeepers in Darfur. Sudan has resisted plans for the UN to take over peacekeeping and this appears to be part of a compromise deal. Neighbouring Chad has declared a state of emergency after the violence in Darfur spilled over the border. "The attackers were on camels and horses. Reports indicate up to 30 villagers killed and 40 injured and half of the village was razed," an AU official told the Reuters news agency. A rebel official said the Sudanese army had taken part in the attack, 45km (30 miles) north of West Darfur capital, El-Geneina.

Q&A: Darfur peacekeeping

The government has repeatedly denied charges that its army has worked with the Janjaweed militias to drive black Africans out of Darfur. The 7,000 AU peacekeepers in Darfur have failed to end the violence and some aid workers have left the region, saying it is too dangerous. The UN Security Council has passed a resolution for 20,000 troops to be sent to Darfur but Sudan has refused to let the UN take control, saying that would infringe its sovereignty.

Diplomats are now suggesting a compromise deal, with the UN helping to boost the AU force.
UN assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations Hedi Annabi said the $22m would be for extra equipment for the AU force. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy travelled to Darfur on Monday and told local officials the international community had no "hidden agenda" for Darfur. "There is only the will to no longer see thousands of people in war," he said.

Some 200,000 people have died in Darfur and two million made homeless, with pro-government militias accused of genocide against black Africans. Sudan's government says the scale of the problems in Darfur are being exaggerated for political reasons.

BBC NEWS REPORT.