The Sudanese government announced its willingness to sign a peace pact with the Sudan Liberation Movement-Second Revolution (SLM-SR), aiming to solve the longstanding Darfur conflict, a government official said on Thursday.
Magdy Khalafalla, head of the government's office for peace in Darfur, said an agreement would be signed in Doha next week between the government and Sudan Liberation Second Revolution, led by prominent rebel figure Abu al-Qasim Imam. It came just a few days after Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir extended a unilateral ceasefire
The development follows a U.S. decision to review a lifting of sanctions that have crippled the country's economy for two decades.
The accord is not expected to end the Darfur conflict as several other rebel factions have resisted peacemaking to date. The conflict erupted in 2003 when mainly non-Arab tribes took up arms against Sudan's Arab-led government.
The United States said last week it would unfreeze Sudan's assets and remove financial sanctions as a response to Khartoum's cooperation in fighting Islamic State and other Islamist militants, but would wait 180 days to assess progress on human rights and resolving conflicts such as in Darfur.
Talks to secure a lasting ceasefire in Sudan's three warring regions under a road map for peace collapsed last August.
The deal with Sudan Liberation Second Revolution will be added to a framework peace agreement the government put together in 2011 but which only a few groups have so far signed on to, Khalafalla said.
"This movement's inclusion will widen the area that enjoys peace in Darfur, especially in the Marra mountains area...We are optimistic that the coming period will see major developments in the peace process in Darfur."