Ellison arrested at Darfur protest

Rep. Keith Ellison was among eight activists arrested Monday morning at a demonstration outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington. The event was held to protest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s decision to expel 16 international aid agencies from the country. Reps. John Lewis (D-GA), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Donna Edwards (D-MD) were also among those taken away in handcuffs. Roughly 450,000 people have been killed in the Darfur region of Sudan since civil war broke out six years ago.

UPDATE: Ellison released a statement about the protest. Here’s part of it: “We encourage Khartoum to deliver on its promises to implement policy actions to end the deteriorating humanitarian crisis. We implore all countries to demand that the Government of Sudan respect and protect human rights and put an end to the acts of atrocities and crimes against humanity in Darfur.”