Richardson travels to Sudan to intervene in crisis

Gov. Bill Richardson will travel back to Sudan this weekend to urge the country to allow U.N. peacekeeping troops to enter the war-torn Darfur region.

The governor is making the trip at the request of the Save Darfur Coalition, which asked for Richardson’s help last month.

At least 400,000 people have been killed and another 2 million forced to flee their homes in the last three years in Darfur while Sudanese forces have fought two rebel groups. President Bush has recognized assaults on civilians of a particular ethnic group associated with the rebels as acts of genocide by the Sudanese government and its allied militias.

The Sudanese government has allowed African Union troops to enter the region but refused U.N. peacekeeping troops despite a U.N. resolution calling for a force to intervene. The African Union troops have had little success.

With that in mind, Richardson will meet with Sudanese officials Saturday to urge the acceptance of a joint peacekeeping force made up of troops from the United Nations and African Union forces, according to a news release from the governor’s office. He will also push for a cease fire.

“This is a crisis of incredible proportions. Millions of lives in the Darfur region are at risk from war, disease and malnutrition,” Richardson said in the release. “The U.S. has an opportunity to use leadership and diplomacy to help, and if I can play even a small part in that effort, I am ready to do it.”

While in Sudan, Richardson will travel to the Darfur region to make a personal assessment and will meet with humanitarian groups.

Richardson has coordinated his trip with Andrew Natsios, special envoy to Sudan for the U.S. State Department, according to the release. The Save Darfur Coalition is paying for the trip.

In September, Richardson traveled to Sudan and secured the release of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Salopek and two colleagues who were jailed on charges of espionage, passing information illegally and writing “false news.”

The governor has a long-term relationship with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and the country’s ambassador to the United States. In 1996, when he was a congressman, Richardson successfully negotiated the release of a U.S. Air Force pilot and two Red Cross workers who were being held hostage.