U.S. film actor George Clooney says he has urged the Obamaadministration to step up U.S. efforts to solve the humanitarian crisisin the Sudanese region of Darfur.
The Academy Award-winningactor met with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden atthe White House Monday to brief them on his recent trip to refugeecamps on the Sudanese-Chadian border.
In a nationallytelevised interview after his meeting on CNN's ,Clooney said the 250,000 refugees living in the camps are "hanging onby the skin of their teeth" (a colloquial phrase used to describe therefugees' precarious situation).
Clooney said he urged thepresident and vice president to appoint a full-time envoy to the regionwho will report directly to the White House. He also called on Chinato apply pressure on the Sudanese government to end the violence in theregion.
China is a major customer of Sudan's natural resources, which it uses to feed its massive economy.
Clooney, who is a United Nations Messenger of Peace, said Khartoum denied him a visa to visit camps in Darfur.
TheU.N. says more than 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since2003 in fighting between rebels and the Sudanese government and alliedmilitias. Another 2.7 million people have been driven from theirhomes.