The UN Security Council Saturday afternoon approved a resolution threatening oil sanctions against Sudan unless the government takes steps to defuse the conflict in the Darfur region. The Sudanese government has been accused of backing Arab militias known as Janjaweed (background here) that are allegedly responsible for a death toll approaching 5000. The resolution was a modified version of the US drafted resolution presented earlier this week and was adopted by an 11 to 0 vote, with four absentions. Security Council sanctions are binding on all member nations under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. See continuing coverage of the Darfur crisis on JURIST's Paper Chase here. Reuters has more.

UPDATE: The text of the Security Council resolution and a synopsis of the Council debate are now available online here from the UN.