Human Rights Watch has called for UN sanctions against Sudan if it continues "indiscriminate" attacks on civilians.

In a 76-page report, Human Rights Watch urged the rapid deployment of UN and African Union peacekeepers to tackle a surge of violence in war-torn Darfur.

The organisation said Sudanese government forces, their allies and rebels had free rein to attack civilians and humanitarian workers.

A Sudanese government spokesman dismissed the report and its claims.

Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that even as the UN and African Union prepare to deploy to Darfur the world's largest-ever peacekeeping mission, Sudanese government forces, allied "Janjaweed" militia, rebels and former rebels were targeting civilians and humanitarian workers in the region.

'Scramble for power'

Human Rights Watch said the situation had changed from an armed conflict between rebels and the state into a violent scramble for power and resources.

The report added that civilians who had fled from their homes were now trapped inside camps and risked being attacked, raped, robbed or beaten if they ventured out.

It also said outsiders had now taken their land, which would block their return and the chance of sustainable peace.

It called on the UN Security Council, the African Union and the international community at large to impose targeted sanctions against the Sudanese government and other parties to the conflict if they failed to meet key benchmarks for improving the human rights situation in Darfur.

A Sudanese government spokesman rejected the report's call for sanctions and described its claims of government attacks on civilians as "rubbish".