Doha, Feb 24 (DPA) Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir Tuesday night signed a ceasefire deal in Doha with a key rebel group, in what could be a key step toward ending the conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region.
Announcing the ceasefire in Qatar, Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), called the power-sharing deal outlined in the framework agreement "a very important step", but said lasting peace would require "patience" and "concessions" from both sides.
"The people have suffered from war and yearn for peace," al-Bashir said announcing the deal, which was brokered by Chadian President Idriss Deby and Qatari Emir Sheikh Hammad bin Khalifa.
Al-Bashir had earlier said the deal brokered "the beginning of the end of the war in Darfur."
"God willing, by the next elections, Darfur will be in a state of total peace," he said, adding that he hoped the ceasefire with JEM would pave the way for a "comprehensive" peace to end the seven-year conflict.
Other rebel groups, such as the Sudan Liberation Army, have not signed up to the deal.
The government in Khartoum has signed several previous ceasefire agreements that have quickly fallen apart, but many analysts see more hope this time around.
Fighting has died off in Darfur, leaving only isolated clashes. Crucially, this deal was brokered by Chadian President Derby, who has ethnic ties with the JEM and whom Sudan had accused of supporting the rebels in a proxy war.
Sudan and its neighbour Chad recently signed an agreement that should see relations improve.
Presidential and legislative elections, due in April, are forcing Khartoum to worry about relations with the autonomous Southern Sudan, with which it fought a long civil war.
International pressure is also being applied, particularly through the International Criminal Court's March 2009 arrest warrant for al-Bashir on charges he oversaw crimes against humanity in Darfur.
These factors are believed to working in favour of peace in Darfur by forcing Khartoum to talk more seriously with the rebels.
The United Nations estimates that fighting in Darfur has left 300,000 dead and 2.7 million displaced. The Sudanese government says only 10,000 people have died in the conflict.