U.S. to Sudan: We Can't 'Clean It Up'

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Nov. 9, 2005 — -- For the fourth time in six months, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick is in Sudan, trying to pressure the government and tribal militias to stop the killing in the Darfur region, but he warned the United States can't "clean it up."

Zoellick has been to Sudan more than he's been to any other country this year and, he points out, even more than he's been to New York. And he's brought along some White House firepower: top presidential policy adviser Michael Gerson is here with him. But in a blunt speech at Khartoum University, Zoellick warned that neither the U.S. nor the international community can come to the rescue.

"It's a tribal war," Zoellick said. "And frankly I don't think foreign forces want to get in the middle of a tribal war of Sudanese."

"I don't think we can clean it up because it's not just a question of ending violence, it's a question of creating the context for peace," Zoellick said.

Despite U.S. efforts, the situation has only deteriorated since Zoellick's first visit back in late April. A fragile cease-fire has given way to increased violence over the past two months. Even peacekeeping forces from the African Union have been attacked twice in recent weeks. Peace talks have unraveled because of infighting among Darfur's anti-government rebels.

Zoellick warned that the violence in Darfur threatens to undermine the peace agreement that ended Sudan's 20-year civil war earlier this year.

"In Sudan, when one piece of the mosaic cracks, there is a danger that everything else could fall apart," he said. "And when that happens those who suffer the most are the poor, the displaced and the dispossessed. They are the soul of Sudan, and they have already suffered far, far too much."

Zoellick is making his fourth trip to Sudan in an effort to find a solution to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur that has killed more than 200,000 people and forced another 2 million from their homes and into refugee camps. ABC News is the only television network traveling with Zoellick.