Bush urges cooperation to end ‘genocide’ in Sudan’s Darfur

June 9, 2006 (CAMP DAVID, Maryland) — President George W. Bush called Friday for international cooperation in an effort to end what he called the genocide in Darfur.

“I believe there’s genocide taking place. And I believe we have a responsibility to work together to bring — to bring some security to the poor folks that are being harassed and raped and murdered in the far reaches of Darfur,” he told reporters at Camp David, Maryland, the presidential retreat near Washington.

Speaking after a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the president said the two had discussed Darfur and “our desire to help the AU (African Union) forces achieve stability in Darfur.”

Bush’s remarks came as a joint United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) team arrived in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to assess whether the UN can take over peacekeeping operations in the western region of Darfur.

The world body is planning to deploy a robust peacekeeping force in Darfur by the end of the year or the beginning of 2007 to take over from cash-strapped and poorly equipped AU troops.

Civil war and a humanitarian crisis in Darfur have left 180,000 to 300,000 people dead and 2.4 million people displaced since February 2003.

(ST)