Bush urges Sudan to honor ceasefire

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 21 (AFP) — US President Goerge W. Bush urged the Sudanese government Tuesday to honour the ceasefire in Darfur and stop the killing in the western region of the country where a 19-month conflict has claimed an estimated 50,000 lives.

“I call the government of Sudan to honor the ceasefire that has been signed and stop the killing in Darfur,” Bush told the UN General Assembly.

He congratulated the UN Security Council for passing a resolution on Saturday that called on Secretary General Kofi Annan to set up an international commission to investigate charges of human rights violations in Darfur and determine whether acts of genocide had taken place.

The resolution threatened possible sanctions against Sudan’s oil industry unless the Khartoum government meets its commitment to restore security to Darfur.