WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Human rights groups are asking President-elect Barack Obama to pay early attention to the crisis in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, where government forces have waged a bloody war against militias that some international critics have characterized as genocide. Sudan President Omar al-Bashir has agreed to a cease-fire with rebels, which could give the U.S. an opening. "We've seen the military surge in Iraq. We've seen the development surge that NATO's announced for Afghanistan," said Darfur activist John Prendergast. "What's really needed in Sudan and the broader Horn and East Africa region is a peace surge." Prendergast's ENOUGH organization to combat genocide is a project of the Center for American Progress, a Democratic think tank run by Obama's transition co-chairman, John Podesta.
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Human rights activist calls for "peace surge" in Darfur, Sudan
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Activists ask Obama to create team to focus on Darfur in first 100 days
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During campaign, Obama said ending crisis would be a priority on "Day One"
Although the United States does not have to lead the peace process, it could be an active partner in the global effort to develop a strategy for getting the various parties in @placeholder together, he said.