WASHINGTON, June 24 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will discuss the situation in Darfur and the peace deal with southern rebels during his visit to Sudan next week.
"It will give us a chance to discuss not only the situation in Darfur, but also the success in Nyvasha," Powell told reporters in Washington Thursday.
The government and rebels from the south of the country signed a peace deal in Nyvasha, Kenya, earlier this month.
Powell will arrive in Khartoum Tuesday and will leave Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. There, he might also meet with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
The western region of Darfur has been the scene of attacks by government-backed Arab militias against African villages. More than 1 million people have been displaced in the acts the United States regards as "ethnic cleansing."
"The situation is dire," Powell said. "If we were able to do all we wanted to tomorrow, there would still be a large loss of life."
Boucher said a proposal to call the situation "genocide" was under "intense review."
