U.S. special envoy Scott Gration is due to have talks with officials of China, Russia, Britain, France over the peace process of Sudan's western Darfur region, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in Washington on Friday.

"This is all an effort to align positions on the Darfur peace process under the leadership of United Nations-African Union joint chief mediator Djibril Bassole," Kelly told reporters.

Gration will leave Washington on Saturday and conclude his foreign visit on June 1, during which he will visit China, Qatar, Britain and France. He will also hold a meeting with his counterparts from China, Russia and Britain, France and the European Union in Doha, Qatar, the spokesman said.

In February 2003, infighting in the Darfur region flared up after rebels took up arms against the Sudanese government, accusing it of marginalizing the arid region. A humanitarian crisis emerged in the western Sudanese region after years of conflict.

Some 10,000 civilians have been killed and about one million people displaced since the conflict erupted.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2009)