UN puts sanctions on 4 Sudanese for Darfur war

Both Jones Parry and U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said more people could be added to the sanctions list but gave no date.

"This resolution demonstrates that the Security Council is serious in its effort to restore peace and security in the region," Bolton told the council.

To ease the concerns of African nations, the Security Council also approved a Tanzanian-drafted statement supporting the peace talks. African Union mediators have set April 30 as a deadline for a new peace deal.

The Darfur conflict erupted in 2003 when mostly non-Arab tribes took up arms over land and water resources, accusing the Arab-dominated government of neglect.

In turn, the government is accused of arming Arab militia, known as Janjaweed, who ran a campaign of murder, rape, arson and plunder that drove more than 2 million villagers into squalid camps in Darfur and neighboring Chad. Khartoum denies responsibility.

China exploits oil and supplies weapons to Sudan. But Wang contended Beijing was consistent in opposing sanctions in general and not because of its economic interests.

Both Russia and China argued that the sanctions might impede the Abuja peace negotiations.

"In our view, there is the feeling that the adoption of this resolution might have a negative impact on the prospects for concluding a peace agreement within the time period," Russia's U.N. envoy, Konstantin Dolgov said.

Sponsoring the resolution were the United States, Britain, Argentina, Denmark, France, Japan, Peru and Slovakia.