Sudan has refused to allow a UN force to replace the ill-equipped African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

The UN is now examining ways to provide the AU troops with additional equipment and resources.

Officials from Africa, Europe, China, the US and Russia are gathering in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa.

This meeting marks the point at which the UN must admit it has failed to persuade the Sudanese government to accept a UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

New proposals

Months of very intense diplomatic pressure have shifted the government of Sudan not one millimetre.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir is resolute, he will not allow a UN force into the troubled western state.

Q&A: Darfur peacekeeping

Words like pragmatism, flexibility and expedience are now being used.

The plan is to beef up the AU force and provide it with extra resources and equipment to turn it from an under-funded and ineffective operation into one that it is hoped will genuinely help the people of Darfur.

Sudanese troops and rebel movements have intensified fighting recently, adding to the death toll of over 200,000 people in the past three-and-a-half years.

Two million people have been driven from their homes into camps where they face the constant threat of violent death, rape, hunger and degradation.

Every moment of delay deepens their misery.