New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has quite the traveling companion for his latest trip to Darfur – actor George Clooney.

Kristof wrote in his blog this week that he "decided that more people would read it if I put Clooney’s name in the lede." And Clooney has been just one in a chorus of celebrity voices to speak out on the Darfur issue. Don Cheadle (star of the movie “Hotel Rwanda”) wrote a book on Darfur with activist/analyst John Prendergast.

Kristof was one of the original voices to bring attention to Darfur, writing about the region when the violence was at its worst in 2004. Kristof points out in his latest column that the conflict in Darfur has lasted longer than World War II.

Just this week, though, the Sudanese government and a key rebel group agreed to an accord "paving the way for peace talks."

United Nations Chief Ban Ki-moon called it a “constructive step” but said until both parties ended hostilities, the situation in Darfur could not improve.

Prendergast called the agreement "a building block for the beginning of a possible peace process."

But just one day after signing the agreement, the rebel group accused the government of air raids, a charge the government denies. At a minimum, there is a strong level of distrust between the two sides. Additionally, none of the other Darfur rebel groups participated in the talks.

In the column, Kristof argues that an International Criminal Court indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir would be a step forward for Darfur, a position that is not universally held by Sudan experts (See ICC vs. Bashir: Debating the Interests of Justice and Pluses and Minuses of War Crimes Charges.)

With an official indictment expected in weeks, observers will be watching for the potential impact both in Darfur and in the South.