A key report on war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region has sparked a diplomatic battle between the United States and Europe on how to prosecute perpetrators of atrocities there.
A UN-appointed commission of inquiry reported last night that the Sudanese government and its militia allies committed major crimes under international law, setting the stage for Sudan officials and rebels to be prosecuted as war criminals.
But the 176-page report concluded that Khartoum had not pursued a policy of genocide against non-Arabs in Darfur, where at least 70,000 people have died from killings or disease and 1.8 million people were forced out of their homes.
Nonetheless, it said some individuals may have acted with "genocidal intent," which only a court could decide. That court, the commission's five legal experts said, should be the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), set up to try individuals for genocide, war crimes and massive human rights abuses.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Europeans want the UN Security Council to refer Sudan to the ICC.
But the Bush administration vigorously opposes the court, citing fears of prosecutions against US soldiers abroad.
Instead it wants to set up a new UN-African Union tribunal in Tanzania. Diplomats said Washington was willing to pay a considerable sum to establish the court but feared no other rich country would help.
The United States is drafting a resolution that would establish a peacekeeping force in southern Sudan. Mr Annan has asked for 10,130 troops plus 755 international police officers to implement a recent agreement ending a separate two-decade conflict in the south.