In London, demonstrators converged on the Sudanese Embassy and Prime Minister Tony Blair's Downing Street residence and called for the immediate deployment of an international peacekeeping force in the troubled region, said Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Harrowing testimony was given outside the Sudanese Embassy in the upmarket Mayfair area of the British capital while rape alarms were set off for a minute a short distance away outside Blair's residence.

The placard-waving protesters included victims of rape and sexual violence in Darfur.

Woman rights groups say rape is being used as a weapon of war.

The demonstration was led by women's groups and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International.

They delivered a letter to Foreign Office Minister Lord David Triesman, urging continued pressures for a UN force in Darfur.

"The message from today was about next steps... to maintain action and then ultimately for sanctions on the Sudanese government," said Brendan Cox, from organizers the Globe for Darfur coalition.

Sudan has agreed to accept non-military support from the UN for the African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur region.

Khartoum is resisting international pressures to let the UN contribute troops, let alone take over command.

Twenty-two civilians were killed in a weekend attack in western Sudan which the government blamed on Darfur rebels.

The combined effect of ethnic violence and famine has left up to 300,000 people dead and displaced 2.5 million.

Despite the signing of a recent peace deal with one of the rebel groups, violence in the region has continued unabated.

Rapes

The Aegis Trust -- a British NGO that works to prevent genocide – accused forces loyal to the Khartoum government, including the Janjaweed, of using rape as part of a "genocidal process."

"By subjugating huge numbers of women and killing and displacing the men, the ethnic make-up will change as a generation of babies are born from rape," said its chief executive James Smith.

"These are acts intended to destroy an ethnic group, acts which define genocide."

In a report Sunday, The Alliance for Direct Action against Rape and Conflict and Crises, of which the Aegis Trust is a founding partner, said there has yet to be a single conviction for such offences.

The Sudanese government denies reports of widespread rape, pointing out that the people of Darfur are Muslim and, therefore, incapable of rape.

John Danforth, America's former ambassador to the UN and envoy to Sudan, has accused the Bush administration of using the "genocide" term in Darfur only to please the powerful Christian right and mobilize their votes ahead of the presidential elections.

A recent UN report has refuted the American claim, concluding that "no genocidal policyhas been pursued and implemented in Darfur by the government authorities, directly or through the militias under their control."

Source: islamonline