London, Apr 12 : J.K. Rowling has made a rare foray into the public arena by joining George Clooney's campaign to fight for the protection of the stricken Darfur children.

In a letter published in The Times, the Harry Potter creator and 13 other leading children's authors, including Judy Blume and Cornelia Funkecall, called on governments to demand a ceasefire in the brutal Saharan conflict, backed up by military deployment.

"Children in Darfur draw pictures of bombs and guns. It is all they have ever known. Childhood is under attack in Darfur," Times Online quoted the letter, as stating.

"It is time to change the narrative. It is time to tell a different story. This April many children in Darfur will be reaching their fifth birthdays without ever having known peace. The world needs to wake up. For too long it has let these children suffer. Our politicians need to act on Darfur," the letter stated.

The authors call for the international community to demand an immediate ceasefire, full deployment of UN peacekeeping forces, action against anyone blocking deployment and support for a just peace process.

The letter concludes: "The children of Darfur didn't ask for this war, but are living their days caught in the crossfire of reverberating bullets. They must be allowed to be children again. Despite the daily terror they face, they still have hopes and dreams. The world needs to act now to give the children of Darfur a future."

ANI