The Methodist Church has called for immediate international action to prevent further killings in the Darfur region of Sudan as cities around the world prepare for the Global Day for Darfur on Sunday 17 September.

Steve Hucklesby, Methodist secretary for international Affairs, said: "Violence in Darfur has created one of the worst humanitarian disasters today with over 200,000 people killed and millions displaced.

"We should not let the challenges of military intervention in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East cause us to fall shy of intervention in Sudan.

"Darfur is a different situation and an effective peacekeeping force could transform the situation.

"A resolution to the conflict will take time but meanwhile the Government of Sudan is clearly unable or unwilling to protect civilians.

"We ask the British Government to continue to press for an effective UN peace-keeping force with a robust mandate to supplement the African Union troops already in Darfur."

Christian Aid will join senior members of the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths in the UK as they gather outside Downing Street on Sunday to call for an end to the suffering in Darfur.

Prayers written by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra will be read out at 12.30pm.

A message has also been sent from the Catholic Bishop of El Obeid, whose diocese includes Darfur.

The Global Day for Darfur has the support of both Prime Minister Tony Blair and also Rt. Hon Hilary Benn MP, International Development Secretary of State, who said the day was "a chance for us to remember all of the people who have died; the two million people who tonight once again will be living in camps; the 3 million people who are dependent on the international community for food aid; the lives that have been destroyed; the hopes that have been dashed... And we know that it's getting worse".