Call for peace in Sudan

The leaders of two main Sudanese opposition parties have signed an appeal in Cairo for peace in Sudan.

The head of the Umma party, the former prime minister, Sadek al Mahdi, and Mohamed Osman al Mirghani of the National Democratic Party, called for an end to the state of emergency outside zones of military operations, the freeing of political prisoners, and the relaunch of an Egyptian-Libyan peace initiative.

The two leaders also called for moves towards the better cohabitation between cultures and religions in Sudan, which correspondents say is a reference to the conflict between the Muslim north and the Christian and animist south.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service