Obama urges peacekeeping in Darfur

N'DJEMENA, Chad, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., following a visit to Sudan's Darfur region, said it is urgent that a United Nations peacekeeping force be sent there.

Obama, the only African-American in the U.S. Senate, departed Chad's capital city of N'Djemena Sunday. He said there is a "great urgency" to pressure the United States and other nations to force Sudan to accept a U.N. peacekeeping force, so refugees can return to Sudan without jeopardizing their safety, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Obama's last stop before returning to the United States was a refugee camp near the Chad-Sudan border where more than 15,000 people have fled the violence at the hands of the Janjaweed militias.

"We can't wait," Obama said of the deploying of peacekeeping forces in Darfur.