George Clooney hopes UAE can help end Darfur conflict

"We are trying to find places (through which) we can have a real conversation with people in Sudan and President Omar al-Beshir. And obviously here (in the UAE) they have an influence," Clooney told AFP in Dubai, which is one of seven emirates that makes up the Muslim Gulf state of the UAE.

The Oscar-winning actor is in Dubai to attend the regional premier of his new film "Michael Clayton" at the start of the cosmopolitan emirate's fourth international film festival.

Clooney has used his star power to draw attention to the almost-five year conflict in western Darfur region, in which more than 200,000 people have died from the effects of war, famine and disease, while 2.2 million others have been left homeless.

The Darfur war pits black ethnic groups against Khartoum government troops backed by Arab militias.