President Bush has asked Congress to approve $225 million in emergency food aid to help stop the genocide in the Darfur region of the Sudan.
The president asked that five U.S. ships be loaded with food and other supplies and head to Port Sudan immediately. Another 40,000 metric tons of food have also been ordered with the goal of quickly shipping them to Darfur.
'These actions will allow the world food program to restore full food rations to the people of Darfur this summer,' Bush announced.
Mr. Bush also indicated that he would have Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice address the United Nations Tuesday to request a resolution to speed up a the introduction of a U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur.
Friday, the Sudanese government and the largest rebel group signed an agreement designed to end more than three years of fighting. During that time, Arab militias have killed at least 180,000 non-Arabs and left more than 2 million people homeless. Many in the international community say the government in Khartoum has supported the militias but the government denies any direct involvement.
Bush is hopeful that Khartoum will allow U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur now that the agreement has been signed. In the past, the government had indicated it would allow U.N. soldiers in the area only after a deal was signed.
The $225 million in food and other aid has been attached to the emergency spending bill now stalled on Capitol Hill. Bush has threatened to veto the bill which also funds the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and sends money to the Gulf coast region ravaged by Hurricane Katrina because of add-ons that bring it over the amount Bush initially allocated. The president has claimed the bill is designed to be a response to an emergency situation and the additional expenditures are 'not necessary.'
'I hope Congress will act swiftly on this true emergency,' Bush said on Monday.
