This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
WASHINGTON - Sen. Orrin Hatch is backing a move to put multinational peacekeeping troops in Darfur. Hatch on Monday signed onto a Senate resolution calling for an urgent deployment of a peacekeeping force to the Darfur region of Sudan, where the United Nations estimates that since armed warfare started in early 2003, hundreds of thousands of people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced. "Victims of this conflict have experienced unspeakable atrocities, and many who have survived violence have perished to disease and starvation," Hatch said in a statement. "The amount of suffering is unconscionable: As many people in Darfur have been forced to flee their homes as live in the entire state of Utah, and as many have died as live in the Provo-Orem area." Hatch is the 33rd senator to sign onto the resolution. The resolution calls for 17,000 troops along with 3,000 civilian police to be deployed to the region, with a "primarily African character," but open to non-African troops and police members.
- Thomas Burr
