Photo by Selma Talha Jebril

George Clooney was arrested Friday morning outside the Embassy of Sudan while protesting actions taken by the Sudanese government that he and other activists charge are provoking a humanitarian crisis.

Along with several other high-profile protesters handcuffed by the U.S. Secret Service outside the embassy, Clooney was demonstrating against actions taken by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir toward residents of the Nuba Mountains near the border with South Sudan, which achieved independence in July 2011. Activists and humanitarian groups accuse the Bashir government of blocking critical food and medical aid to the strife-torn region.

Clooney arrived in Washington earlier this week to testify before Congress on what he called a “campaign of murder” and “constant drip of fear” going on in Sudan. He also dropped by the White House yesterday to lobby President Obama on increasing U.S. aid to the Sudanese people. The actor has long been engaged in humanitarian efforts in East Africa, including a much-publicized 2009 trip to Sudan and neighboring Chad with Nicholas D. Kristof of The New York Times.

Also arrested outside the Sudanese Embassy were Clooney’s father, Nick, a former newspaper columnist; Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP; Martin Luther King III, son of Martin Luther King Jr.; and Reps. James P. Moran (D-Va.) and James McGovern (D-Mass.)