US names Sudan peace envoy

Danforth (right) plays down hopes of an early breakthrough

President George W Bush has announced a new American initiative on Sudan aimed at promoting a peaceful resolution of the country's long civil war.

He has appointed a former senator, John Danforth, as a special envoy to investigate the situation and work with other countries to mediate an end to what the president termed "a brutal and shameful" conflict.

For nearly two decades, the government of Sudan has waged a brutal and shameful war against its own people.

President Bush

An estimated two million people have died in the 18-year war between the Muslim government in Khartoum and mainly Christian rebels in the south who are fighting for autonomy.

At least four previous US attempts to end the fighting have failed.

The Khartoum government has already cautiously welcomed renewed US peace efforts, but it has warned that Washington must adopt a neutral position.

Bombs

The US has long accused Sudan of training terrorists and in 1999 US planes bombed a Khartoum factory, which Washington claimed had been used to manufacture bombs.

On appointing Mr Danforth, Mr Bush said: "It's important to America, important to the world to bring some sanity to the Sudan."

Rebel leader John Garang wants autonomy for Sudan's Christian and animist South

"For nearly two decades, the government of Sudan has waged a brutal and shameful war against its own people; and this isn't right, this must stop," he added.

Mr Danforth hopes to visit Sudan by November but was trying to play down hopes of an early breakthrough.

"The possibility of peace depends on the will of combatants not on the intentions of outsiders," he said on Thursday.

The BBC's John Leyne says that Mr Bush was under pressure from both the political left and right to act on Sudan.

Christians and slaves

The left is concerned about continued slavery in Sudan, while right-wing Christians are alarmed about reports that Christians are being persecuted by the Muslim government.

The recent discovery of oil has added a new element to the Sudan conflict.

Some activists have said that oil has fuelled the war but our Washington correspondent says it might provide an incentive for both sides to come together, as well as to co-operate with the outside world.

The White House is also considering separate aid packages to both north and south to smooth the peace process.