Truce agreement signed

Sudanese rebels said on Tuesday they had signed a truce agreement with the government of Sudan for the duration of peace talks due to start on Wednesday in Machakos, Kenya.

Samson Kwaje, spokesman for the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) told IRIN that the signed memorandum committed both parties to cease hostilities throughout Sudan for the duration of the talks, and to ensure a military stand-down of their respective forces "including allied forces and affiliated militia".

Both sides would send messages to their respective forces, which would come into effect at midday on Thursday, he said.

The text of the agreement also committed both sides to maintaining a "conducive atmosphere" throughout the negotiations until "all outstanding issues in the conflict were resolved", he said.

Wednesday's talks will kick off with the issue of power-sharing, he added.

Kwaje said the SPLA was satisfied with the agreement which implicitly included the opposition grouping National Democratic Alliance in the term "allied forces", and covered the entire country including the eastern front which, he said, the government originally wanted excluded from the deal.

"We could not have had a partial cessation of hostilities ... both sides could have shifted to the eastern front, so what would have been the point?" Kwaje said.

Sudanese government officials were not immediately available for comment.

This is the first politically motivated ceasefire agreement signed between the government and rebels in 19 years of civil war.