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The US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said the killings in Sudan's Darfur region constitute genocide.
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Speaking before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr Powell said the conclusion was based on interviews with refugees who had fled Darfur.
He spoke as the UN Security Council prepared to debate a second resolution threatening Sudan with sanctions.
Up to 50,000 people in Darfur may have died and a million have been made homeless during the conflict.
Mr Powell blamed the government of Sudan and pro-government Arab Janjaweed militias for the killings.
"We concluded that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility and genocide may still be occurring," Mr Powell said.
Mr Powell's conclusion is based on evidence collected by state department investigators, who interviewed more than 1,800 refugees.
Their testimonies, Mr Powell said, showed a pattern of violence which was co-ordinated, not random.
Three quarters of them said the Sudanese military had been involved in the violence, working with the Janjaweed.
The Sudanese foreign affairs minister, Najib Abdul Wahab, rejected the accusation of genocide.
He said that neither the European Union nor the African Union had used such strong language to describe events in Darfur.
The BBC's state department correspondent Jill McGivering says the use of the word genocide does not legally oblige the US to act, but it does increase the moral and political pressure.
Ten years ago the UN was accused of failing to stop genocide in Rwanda.
The Sudanese government says it does not believe its allies within the UN will agree to any sanctions.
Oil threat
A previous UN resolution was passed in July, calling for the pro-government Arab Janjaweed militias to be disarmed. The new draft resolution - put forward by Washington - says Sudan has failed to fully comply.
If Khartoum has still not complied by the proposed new deadline, sanctions may be introduced "including with regard to the petroleum sector". Sudan currently produces about 320,000 barrels of oil per day.
The resolution also calls for:
the expansion of the number and mandate of the current 300 African Union troops in the country
international over flights in Darfur to monitor what is happening, and an end to Sudanese military flights there
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to assess whether acts of genocide have been carried out and identify the perpetrators.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3641820.stm