Amid attacks on civilians in the Darfur region of western Sudan, the Security Council and regional leaders remained stymied Friday by that country's refusal to allow U.N. peacekeepers into the region to protect villagers caught in the conflict. The U.S. and Denmark gathered senior officials from 20 "concerned countries," the African Union and the United Nations to discuss possible next steps, such as sanctions, a no-fly zone over Darfur or a forcible intervention. "Time is running out. The violence in Darfur is not subsiding, it is getting worse," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the officials at the emergency session. The meeting was aimed at winning support from Arab countries, especially those that have been silent or have backed Sudan's refusal to accept more than 20,000 peacekeepers by January. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir this week that he sided with Sudan. Rice said Bashir's government should recognize that the world is trying to help Sudan, not occupy it. "The Sudanese government needs to understand that no one is trying to impinge on Sudanese sovereignty. That is not the issue here," she said. "But there is a responsibility to protect the weakest and Sudan has not done that, and so there will have to be a U.N. force."