A impending United Nations investigation into human rights abuse in Sudan's Darfur region does not describe violence against villagers there as "genocide", said the Sudanese foreign minister.
Mr Mustafa Osman Ismail was speaking today on the sidelines of an African Union summit in the Nigerian capital.
There has been no confirmation of the contents of the report from UN officials. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in two years of fighting, many from disease and malnourishment, and 1.8 million have been forced from their homes.
The conflict erupted in western Sudan after rebel groups took up arms in February 2003 charging the government with neglecting the region. The government is accused of deploying Arab militias known as Janjaweed, who looted and burned non-Arab villages, to put down the rebellion.
Khartoum denies the charge and calls the militias outlaws. The United States has called the situation in Darfur genocide and the United Nations was expected to release its findings soon on whether it too characterised the violence there as genocide.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told officials meeting in Nigeria for an African Union summit: "Serious violations of international humanitarian law and gross violations of human rights have taken place . . . action will have to be taken."