Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir hailed a deal that his government signed over the weekend with southern rebels in Kenya as a "beginning for peace" in a country wracked by a 19-year civil war.
After five weeks of negotiations in the Kenyan town of Machakos, the two sides say they have reached a basic agreement that a referendum will be held in six years time in which secession will be offered to the south.
During a tour of western Sudan today, Mr Beshir said the memorandum of understanding signed with the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) was a "beginning for peace which will prevail in the country, God willing."
Mr Beshir was quoted by the state-run SUNA news agency while inaugurating a highway in the western Kordofan region Saturday.
Mediators announced in Kenya that Khartoum and the SPLA had reached an understanding in which they agreed on the most contentious issues - the "right to self-determination for the people of south Sudan, and state and religion."
In the signed protocol, the two sides reiterated their commitment to a negotiated, peaceful resolution to the conflict "within the unity of Sudan."
Yet, under the landmark agreement, southern Sudan will hold an internationally supervised referendum on independence following six years of autonomous rule, the SPLA said from Nairobi.
Sudan's civil war broke out in 1983 when the rebels took up arms against the predominantly Arab and Muslim northern government in an attempt to obtain greater autonomy for the south, where most people follow traditional beliefs. Between 5% and 10% of southerners are Christians.
An estimated two million people have been killed during the conflict, mainly through war induced famine, and another four million have been forced to flee their homes.
The Machakos talks opened June 17 and observers from Britain, Norway and the United States are sitting in for the first time in a decade of inconclusive talks held under the auspices of the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development.
AFP