US seeks funds for humanitarian, peacekeeping missions in Sudan

Mar 9, 2006 (WASHINGTON) — U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday that the government is requesting 514 million dollars for humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts in Sudan’s Darfur region.

The funds will support humanitarian efforts in the Darfur region and peacekeeping activities in Sudan, Rice said at during a testimony at the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“I hope that we can stop the violence and the genocide in Darfur,” Rice said, adding that a senior State Department official is now in Libya seeking support for the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in Sudan.

The United States has voiced support for African Union peacekeeping forces in Sudan and pressed for U.N. peacekeepers in the country.

Thousands have been killed and some 2 million people displaced since the government troops clashed with rebels in 2003.

The United States has urged the Sudanese government and the rebel groups to undertake negotiations in order to achieve peace and reconciliation in the Darfur region.

(Xinhua)