Sudan plans peace talks

Two million people have been killed, mostly as a result of war related famine

The Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, and the main rebel leader, John Garang of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA), are to attend a summit aimed at ending the country's 18 year civil war.

The peace summit, organised by the regional Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is due to take place in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in June.

Everybody wants a ceasefire and we want this ceasefire to be accompanied by a serious negotiation so that it leads to a final peaceful settlement

Mustafa Osman Ismail, Sudanese foreign minister

It will be the first such summit between the two leaders since 1997.

They are expected to be joined by leaders from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti.

The latest stage of Sudan's civil war broke out in 1983 and has claimed the lives of more than two million people mostly through war related famine.

"Everybody now... wants this war to stop. Everybody wants a ceasefire and we want this ceasefire to be accompanied by a serious negotiation so that it leads to a final peaceful settlement," said Sudan's Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail.

US role

During a weekend visit to Kenya, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States was "going to work hard to bring a ceasefire into effect".

Mr Powell, who met Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi, the head of IGAD, as well as aid workers from southern Sudan, said the US would appoint a special envoy to try to press the parties in Sudan to "re-energise" the peace process.

It will be the first time Bashir has met the rebel leader for peace talks

Sudan's foreign minister welcomed US signals of greater involvement in ending the civil war, but urged Washington to stay neutral in the conflict.

"What we are looking for is a neutral and fair involvement," Mr Ismail said.

"We believe the United States' role is very crucial."

The SPLA is the largest of a number of southern Sudanese armed groups fighting for greater autonomy for the south.

Rebel alliance

Earlier on Monday, after days of negotiations, the SPLA and another southern rebel group, the Sudan People's Defence Forces (SPDF), signed a declaration of unity.

The SPDF is led by Riek Machar, the leading name among six former rebel commanders who defected to the government and signed a peace treaty in 1997.

Garang's SPLA has just united with a rival rebel group

He broke from the government last February, saying the terms of the treaty had not been fulfilled.

Under the agreement, a referendum on independence for the south was supposed to have been held by 21 April 2001. It has not taken place.

Commander Taban Deng Gai, the SPDF deputy, said that the two groups had agreed to the alliance after seeing the harmful effects of disunity in the south.

Mr Bashir's government, which has been accused of forcing thousands of southern villagers to flee areas where oil is being extracted, announced last week that it would halt air strikes against the SPLA and has been calling for a cease-fire.