Sudan's foreign minister Friday rejected US claims that the crisis in the Darfur region of the country should be considered genocide. Mustafa Osman Ismail said the US was trying to divert attention from Iraq with the announcement. Both President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell described the atrocities in the region as genocide on Thursday. View the president's statement. JURIST's Paper Chase has more on Powell's statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Many have criticized the Sudanese government for supporting the Janjaweed, Arab militias in the region accused of attacking and driving out the local population. The US State Department has more on the atrocities in Darfur. CBC News has more.