Washington - Police arrested five members of the US Congress on Monday during a protest outside the Sudanese embassy against the conflict in Darfur. Democratic representatives Jim McGovern, John Lewis, Donna Edwards, Keith Ellison and Lynn Woolsey were taken into custody for crossing into an area cordoned off by police, Chris Shields, a spokesman for Woolsey, said.
Police warned the lawmakers several times to not cross the yellow-taped line outside the embassy, Shields said. They were charged with misdemeanor trespassing after surrendering peacefully to the police, he said.
The conflict in Darfur between government-backed militias and rebels has brutalized the civilian population. At least 300,000 people have died and more than 2.5 million people have been displaced within Sudan and the region, according to UN accounts.
"This terror, this violence, this horrible abuse must end," Lewis said in a statement.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been indicted on war crimes by an international court. He responded by kicking international aid groups out of Darfur, prompted worries the world's worst ongoing humanitarian crisis will grow more catastrophic.
