politics

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison will be in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum today to discuss the humanitarian situation in Darfur.

The Minnesota Democrat, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was arrested in Washington last April as part of a protest against the Sudanese embassy. The protest came in response to the expulsion of 13 aid groups from Sudan after an international arrest warrant was issued for Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir.

The Khartoum government has since re-admitted some of those agencies, but Ellison's office said humanitarian concerns remain.

The Obama administration supports the trip. Retired Air Force Major General J. Scott Gration, Obama's Special Envoy to Sudan, said in a statement Monday that the trip "comes at a critical time, when we are working to unify rebel groups in Darfur and preparing parties to return to the negotiating table."

Ellison said he will discuss implementation of the U.S.-backed Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) recently agreed upon by the Khartoum-based government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) of Southern Sudan. That agreement grants the SPLM regional autonomy and calls for sharing of wealth, power and security arrangements between the two parties.

Before the CPA, the two groups waged a decades-long conflict that killed more than 2 million people and displaced 4 million more.

Ellison, traveling at taxpayer expense, also plans to talk about the progress toward national elections and the status of a census in contested areas that are essential to the elections.

Citing security concerns, Ellison's office has disclosed few of the logistical details of the congressionally-sponsored trip.

A report Monday from the Qatar News Agency said the trip would take five days.

The English-language Sudan Tribune, citing sources in the Sudanese foreign ministry, said Ellison will meet with presidential advisor Gazi Salah Edin to discuss "boosting cooperation between the Sudan and the United States" on Darfur. According to the paper, Ellison also is scheduled to visit North Darfur.

Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, also expects to travel to Juba to discuss a peace agreement with southern Sudanese officials. He also will visit several south Sudanese refugee camps. Many of Ellison's Minnesota Sudanese residents come from the South.

Kevin Diaz • 202-408-2753