Face-to-face peace talks are due to begin today Sunday in Nairobi between the Sudanese government and representatives of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army.

Representatives of the two sides met separately with a Kenyan mediator on Saturday to discuss the new round of negotiations aimed at ending years of civil war in southern Sudan.

A spokesman for the SPLA was quoted as saying that nothing substantive was discussed.

The talks have been arranged by a regional grouping the Inter-governmental Authority on Development trying to resolve conflicts in the Horn of Africa.

But observers say there's little prospect of a breakthrough. Both sides recently extended ceasefires in famine-affected areas in southern Sudan.

They agreed that there should be a referendum on self-determination for the region, but differed on where the boundary should lie and the extent of the application of Islamic law -- the south is largely Christian or animist: the rebels want Islamic law suspended.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service