An attack by Darfur rebels on a Chinese oil facility in Sudan has cast further doubt on Darfur peace talks planned for this weekend. Darfur rebel groups have vowed to launch more assaults on oil installations across Sudan, after 20 Government soldiers were killed and two foreign workers taken hostage at a Chinese-run oil facility.

Participants at a United Nations-African Union sponsored meeting on Darfur have urged all rebel groups to attend peace talks next month in Libya and say those that boycott could face consequences.

China's special envoy to Darfur has defended criticism that his country is not exerting its influence enough to stop the violence in the Sudanese region, saying China is making very concrete contributions to peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts there.

Darfur will receive one of the UN's largest ever deployments of peace-keeping troops in the coming weeks, the Prime Minister has said.

Negotiations aimed at resolving Sudan's brutal Darfur conflict faltered before they began on Friday after a leading rebel groups refused to participate. As Nick Wadhams reports from our East Africa bureau in Nairobi, the boycott raises new doubts about prospects for peace in Darfur.

A conference in Paris aimed at finding a solution to the crisis in Darfur has ended with an agreement to coordinate future measures in the troubled region. But as Anita Elash reports for VOA from Paris, most of the key players did not attend the gathering.

Human rights groups say they'll call for a boycott of next year's Olympic Games in China, unless the country does its best to secure a lasting peace in Darfur. Thousands of people have been killed, and millions displaced, since conflict broke out in the region in 2003.

Some of the biggest names in music have come together to raise money and awareness for Amnesty International's human rights work, with an emphasis on the Darfur crisis. Tendai Maphosa has more in this report for VOA from London.

Sudan rejected Wednesday the idea of holding an international conference on the situation surrounding the western province of Darfur, the SUNA national news agency said citing the Sudanese Foreign Ministry.

The United Nations Special Envoy to Darfur today laid out "a road map towards peace" in the war-ravaged region of the Sudan, calling on all parties to cease hostilities and prepare for forthcoming negotiations.

Organized protests took place around the world Sunday to mark the fourth anniversary of the deadly conflict in Sudan's Darfur region. Demonstrators in dozens of cities chanted slogans calling for world leaders to take action to stop the bloodshed.

The Bush administration confirmed Thursday it put off the imposition of new sanctions against Sudan at the urging of U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon. However U.S. officials are skeptical that diplomacy by the U.N. chief will lead to a breakthrough on peacekeeping in Darfur. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department