Powell, in Sudan, Presses for Action

Greg Elder, the chief of the French mission for Doctors Without Borders in Sudan, said the area Powell visited, North Darfur, had been better served by nongovernmental organizations than other parts of the region and was the most advanced of Darfur's three states. The worst hit is West Darfur, where Elder said civilians in camps were "very, very afraid" to move because of militia attacks.

The government has forced people to leave some camps, which Elder said has exacerbated conditions because it is too late to plant crops in many places and more difficult to distribute food to villages than a to single camp. "There is enough food," he said. "But it is the delivery that will be the problem." The rainy season, which began two days ago, will make many roads impassable and spread disease, he said. There are also not enough trucks or helicopters to deliver food, he said.

"It is too late to prevent massive losses of life," Elder said. "The best we can hope is now to mitigate those losses." Currently, about 100 to 200 people a day are dying among the 1.2 million displaced civilians. Elder said aid workers would be "lucky" to keep the death rate at 300 to 400 people a day over the next three months.

The draft U.N. resolution being circulated by the Bush administration would ban the Sudanese and other governments from arming, equipping or training the Janjaweed. It also calls for a travel ban on militia leaders and gives the Sudanese government 30 days to halt militia activities and allow unfettered access for relief officials.

If the steps against the militias fail, sanctions could be applied to "any other individuals or groups responsible for the commission of atrocities in Darfur," according to the draft. U.S. officials said that phrase was designed to warn the government that the United States may press the Security Council to impose sanctions on Sudanese government officials if the situation worsens.

Stuart Holliday, deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that the United States would wait until Powell and Annan conclude their visits before putting the resolution to a vote next week.

Before Powell departed for a conference in Indonesia, Ismail told reporters at the airport in Khartoum that government officials would "do our best" to enhance security, speed political negotiations and lift restrictions on humanitarian aid. Powell said he was pleased by the response and that the international community would be watching closely to see that the pledges were fulfilled.

Staff writer Colum Lynch at the United Nations contributed to this report.