Darfur's splintered rebel groups united in praising US film director Steven Spielberg for quitting as artistic adviser to the Beijing Olympics, and called for athletes to follow his lead.

Spielberg withdrew on Tuesday, saying the competition's hosts China should do more to persuade Sudan to end attacks and other humanitarian atrocities in Darfur.

Activists accuse Beijing of arming the Khartoum regime and funding it through oil revenues.

Lobby groups and celebrities led by Hollywood's Mia Farrow have used this summer's Olympics as a platform for their campaign to persuade Beijing to step up political pressure on Sudan.

No one was immediately available for comment from the Sudanese government.

But rebel groups welcomed Spielberg's decision, saying it could shame Beijing into changing its stance on Darfur.

Abdel Wahed Mohamed Ahmed al-Nur, Paris-based founder of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army, said individual competitors would have a huge impact if they publicly backed out.

Nur told Reuters that Spielberg had made a "noble move". "He will certainly go down in history as someone who gave human lives precedence over fame and money."

Ahmed Abdel Shafie, leader of an SLA faction, said Spielberg's decision was "a wake-up call for the rest of the world".

International experts say almost five years of fighting, rape and looting in Sudan's remote western Darfur region have killed 200,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes.

Government-backed militias have been blamed for much of the early humanitarian outrages. But rebel groups, who took up arms in 2003, have not escaped international criticism.

The UN imposed travel bans and asset freezes on two rebel leaders in 2006. The US has also imposed sanctions on JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim, saying his rebel group had been "responsible for a number of violent incidents".

Darfur's rebel groups splintered into numerous factions after a failed Darfur peace deal in 2006. Many of the larger groups have so far refused to take part in a fresh push for peace talks brokered by the UN and the African Union.

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