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President Barack Obama met with activist-actor George Clooney at the White House on Tuesday to discuss U.S. involvement in Sudan ahead of a critical election early next year in Africa’s largest nation.

Back from a recent trip to the region, Clooney is asking the U.S. and world community to use international pressure and robust diplomacy to prevent violence ahead of the Jan. 9 election — an independence referendum on south Sudan that is likely to split the country in two, and there are fears that the vote could lead to a new outbreak of north-south civil war.

“At a time that is one of the most politicized times ever, this is something that everyone agrees on: If there’s some way to get ahead of this and stop it before it happens, we better,” Clooney said following his meeting with the president, according to the AP.

Obama and Clooney were joined in their talks by activist John Prendergast, cofounder of the Enough Project, an initiative to end genocide. Prendergast said U.S. involvement in containing violence before the election could be a “game-changer” for the Sudanese people.