Al-Bashir to sign Darfur peace deal

Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president, has arrived in Qatar to conclude a peace agreement that could see an end to the war in Darfur.

Al-Bashir is expected to formally sign the peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), Darfur's largest opposition group, on Tuesday, in Doha, the Qatari capital.

Leaders from both sides have promised to reach a final peace deal by March 15.

Al Jazeera's Zeina Awad, reporting from Doha, said: "There are some serious roadblocks ahead of peace talks.

"The Sudanese government is quite upbeat about the whole situation. They say that they believe they will iron out the details on the key flashpoints in time to meet their own self-declared March 15 final ceasefire with the Jem movement."

A preliminary document for the "framework agreement" was signed on Saturday in Ndjamena, Chad's capital, between representatives of the two sides, paving way for a ceasefire to facilitate forthcoming elections.

Sudan is to hold its first multiparty elections in April for the first time in 24 years.

PHOTO CAPTION

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir pictured in 2009.

Al-Jazeera

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