LONDON, Aug. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States has not ruled out sending military forces to Sudan but the international community seems to have few spare troops for any action in the country's Darfur region, visiting US Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Richard Lugar said here Friday.

    "We've not ruled out any options including military force, but I would just simply say...that (in) most countries, no one seems to be available," Lugar told reporters, adding that standing armies of many countries were already overstretched.

    For the moment, the United States was working through the United Nations forum to gain the attention of the Darfur issue, Lugar said.

    Lugar's comments came after the British Independent on Sunday newspaper reported last week that British soldiers were putting onstandby for possible deployment to Sudan, which was described by the British Ministry of Defense as "just speculation".

    However, the British government did not rule out sending troopsto Sudan, where a bloody conflict has engulfed the Darfur region.

    The United Nations Security Council last week adopted a resolution that gave the Sudanese government 30 days to disarm themilitias that have driven hundreds of thousands of black Africans from their villages in the west of the country, or to face possible sanctions if it fails to do so.

    According to earlier reports, a 15-month conflict in the Darfurregion has killed an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 people.

    One million were forced out of their villages and 2 million arein desperate need of aid. Enditem