U.S. President George W. Bush urged the United Nations on Friday to take robust action in Darfur, Sudan where the United Nations has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if the violence does not stop.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference in the White House Rose Garden, Bush said the United Nations should send a message to the Sudanese government that "we're coming in with a UN force in order to save lives."

Currently, the African Union has some 7,000 troops in Darfur but is running out of manpower, finances and equipment.

The UN Security Council passed a resolution in August to deploy a 20,000 UN force in Darfur to replace the African Union force, whose mandate expires on Sept. 30. But the Sudanese government has refused to approve the deployment.

The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003. Fighting, disease and hunger in the region have killed some 200,000 people and driven some 2.5 million into squalid camps.

Source: Xinhua