Prime Minister Stephen Harper faced demands for clarification on whether he is considering sending Canadian troops to Darfur during question period on Thursday.

"There were some inconsistencies yesterday between the prime minister and his defence minister about Canada's capacity to become further engaged in Darfur beyond the advisory role we currently play," said Liberal MP Ralph Goodale.

"This is too important a question to allow any ambiguity."

Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor told a Senate committee on Monday that Canada is stretched too thin to send troops to Darfur, but Harper said on Wednesday that it was a possibility.

During Thursday's question period Harper made it clear he wasn't ruling out the possibility of a Darfur deployment, though he indicated it seems unlikely.

"Canada is looking at all options in terms of its future participation," Harper said, noting that could include military assistance, humanitarian aid or help with governance issues.

"At the present time we don't anticipate any escalation in our military presence in Darfur. It's not apparent that there is a desire to have Western troops there. It's also apparent that Canada's ability to contribute in a substantial way is limited given our other commitments around the world."

Harper said Canada would be ineffective in Darfur without the co-operation of the international community, but said his government has been in contact with the African Union, U.S. President George Bush and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on the issue.

"Cabinet is examining its options and we would anticipate having a plan to put forward in the very near future," Harper said.

He also said Canada would not abandon military commitments in other regions, such as Afghanistan, in order to send troops to Darfur.

On Wednesday, Harper seemed more willing to pledge support to the war-torn region.

"This government stands ready and is in consultation with our friends in the international community to do whatever is necessary to advance the peace process in Darfur," Harper said Wednesday in the House of Commons.

"If that involves sending troops, that will be an option that we consider."

As recently as Tuesday, Harper said Canada stands ready to contribute humanitarian assistance, but did not expect any military requests from Darfur, where at least 180,000 people have died and another 2.4 million have been uprooted.

Politicians from all parties have urged the government to take a leadership role to stop further bloodshed in Darfur, where 100 Canadian soldiers are already serving as advisers to about 7,000 African Union troops.

On Thursday, Goodale said it's time for action.

"Could this be another tragic case of all the world watching, waiting, debating, but not actually doing anything while hundreds of thousands die?" Goodale said.

Asked about the mixed signals from the two politicians earlier in the week, O'Connor's spokesman Etienne Allard told The Globe and Mail it would not be easy to do two large deployments at the same time.

"Minister O'Connor has been consistent in saying that, considering we have 2,300 troops in Afghanistan and the current state of the Canadian Forces, it would be very difficult to support another substantial overseas mission."

Decades of low-level tribal clashes over land and water in Darfur erupted into large-scale violence in early 2003.

The rebels took up arms, accusing the government of discriminating against the black residents of Darfur.

The government is accused of responding by unleashing Janjaweed militias, who are blamed for the worst atrocities such as mass killing and rape, but it's a charge Sudan denies.

The Sudanese government has signed a peace deal with the major rebel group there and has indicated it would be open to UN peacekeepers getting involved.