WASHINGTON, October 6 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration will travel to Moscow to take part in an international conference on Sudan, hosted by the Russian capital on October 6-7, the U.S. Department of State said.
"Special Envoy Gration will travel to Moscow to participate in a conference being hosted by the Special Envoy for Sudan of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Margelov. Special Envoy Gration will participate with other Sudan envoys and representatives of international organizations," the U.S. Department of State said in a statement.
The civil war that broke out in the western region of Darfur in early 2003 has claimed the lives of more than 300,000, according to United Nations estimates, and forced 2.7 million people from their homes. The Sudanese side puts the number of dead at 10,000.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, where the fighting has involved numerous armed groups, Sudanese troops and government-linked militias.
In January Mikhail Margelov and Sudanese parliamentary speaker Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Tahir proposed holding an international conference on Darfur to "to look at the events from the outside and find ways of reconciliation."
The UN, EU, China, the Netherlands, the United States, Finland, Sweden, African Union leaders and Arab League countries, as well as humanitarian organizations, academics and a Sudanese delegation, have confirmed their participation in the conference.
