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U.S. Urges Sudan to Accept Foreign Troops

U.S. President George W. Bush is encouraging Sudan to live up to its pledge to allow United Nations peacekeepers into the troubled western Darfur region. President Bush called Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who he has previously accused of aiding genocide in Darfur.

The call was in order to press al-Bashir to allow U.N. troops, and some from NATO as well, to take over from an African peacekeeping mission in double the numbers. In the call, Bush promised the United States would ship emergency food supplies to ease the humanitarian crisis in the region.

?We?re still far away from our ultimate goal, which is the return of millions of displaced people to their homes so they can have a life without fear,? Bush said. ?But we can now see a way forward.? According to reports, the United States wants up to 14,000 UN troops to take over from the current African Union peacekeeping mission.