[JURIST] Responding to violence in Sudan's western Darfur region [Human Rights Watch backgrounder] that has claimed some 70,000 lives, US lawmakers gathered on Capitol Hill Thursday to call on world leaders to put pressure on both rebels and government forces to halt the bloodshed. Disturbed by what they had seen during visits to camps for Sudanese refugees, the delegation from the House of Representatives called on the UN Security Council to impose sanctions, calling the situation a problem of global importance. The legislators also suggested the expansion of an African Union peacekeeping force currently in southern Sudan. Review the statement [transcript] of delegation leader Rep. Ed Royce, R-Cal., chairman of the House International Relations Committee Subcommittee on Africa [official website]. AP has more.