Washington, DC — Violence and atrocities on a wide scale continue to be committed against the civilian population in Darfur, a vast region in western Sudan. Tens of thousands of men, women and children already have died and hundreds of thousands more remain at risk and in need.
Well before the humanitarian crisis made the front pages, the U.S. began to mobilize the world community to address the unfolding catastrophe in Darfur, even as we worked to advance the north-south peace process to end the longstanding civil war between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement. President Bush was the first world leader to call upon the government of Sudan to stop the violence. We then helped to broker a cease-fire agreement between the government and the armed opposition groups in Darfur, and at our urging, the African Union assumed the task of monitoring the cease-fire.
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