LONDON: The UN Security Council on Thursday adopted a resolution extending the arms embargo on Sudan’s Darfur region by two months, without broadening it to the rest of the war-torn country as sought by the United States.

Despite weeks of discussions, Washington failed to get the expansion approved amid opposition from veto-holding Russia and China, which have argued for maintaining the existing sanctions regime.

In the absence of consensus, the 15-member Security Council unanimously adopted a so-called technical extension of just two months, while negotiations continue behind the scenes.

The Sudan war, now in its fourth year, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions as ever more sophisticated weaponry including armed drones are deployed to the battlefield, taking a particularly deadly toll on civilians.

The army holds sway in Sudan’s central and eastern regions, while the Darfur region in the west and parts of the south are under control of the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The arid Darfur region, which alone is about the size of Spain, has faced some of the worst violence, with displacement camps invaded and repeated ethnic massacres killing thousands at a time.