Turns out all those sightings of George Clooney in Darfur weren't just meant to throw celebrity-stalking internet bloodhounds off the case. Clooney and his father indeed visited the region, and were horrified at what they witnessed while they were there:

Clooney told heart-breaking stories of visiting the border area between Chad and Sudan's Darfur region last week, where he watched refugees spilling into sordid camps and women foraging for food who faced the threat of rape or death.

Clooney urged the public to attend rallies across the United States this Sunday to pressure Khartoum to stop what Washington says amounts to genocide in Darfur.

First United 93 premieres, now Clooney's genocide awareness campaign: We think it's now officially safe to dub this "Unfathomably Depressing Subjects with a Hollywood Angle Week."

• George Clooney uses star power over Darfur [Reuters]

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