U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday urged world leaders to act quickly if the Sudanese government does not approve the proposed deployment of a UN peacekeeping force to its Darfur region.

Addressing an annual general debate, Bush said the world must step forward to provide additional humanitarian aid to the people of Darfur who had suffered "unspeakable violence," and strengthen the African Union force currently deployed there.

The UN Security Council adopted resolution 1706 on August 31 that calls for a 17,000-strong UN force and up to 3,300 civilian police in Darfur to take over from the African troops. Khartoum so far has rejected deploying the UN troops.

"The regime in Khartoum is stopping the deployment of this force. If the Sudanese government does not approve this peacekeeping force quickly, the United Nations must act," Bush said.

"The credibility of the United Nations is at stake," Bush added.

Bush also announced his appointment of Andrew Natsios, former administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, as a presidential special envoy to help end the violence in Darfur.

Source: Xinhua