Monday, December 18, 2006

Richardson Asked to Travel to Sudan


ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Governor Richardson has been asked to travel to Sudan to help persuade the country’s government to accept a peacekeeping force in the war-torn Darfur region.
The request comes from a Washington, DC-based group, the Save Darfur Coalition.
A Richardson spokesman, Pahl Shipley, says the governor is honored by the request and would like to help.
Shipley says Richardson is consulting with the State Department, the Sudanese government and the United Nations.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has rejected a UN Security Council resolution that provides for beefing up the poorly funded and equipped 7,000-troop African Union force to about 22,000 peacekeepers under UN leadership.