Sudan and Southern Rebels Sign Pact to End Civil War

By MARC LACEY

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec. 31 - The government of Sudan signed a preliminary peace accord on Friday night with a rebel group from the country's impoverished south that could end one of Africa's longest-running civil wars, even as the conflict in the western Darfur region continued.

Representatives for the two sides met at a resort on Lake Naivasha, in Kenya, and signed a power-sharing agreement that is intended to become a permanent cease-fire.

The war in Sudan's western Darfur region involves different rebels, however, and peace talks aimed at quelling that conflict have faltered.

Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, Sudan's president, was on hand for Friday's signing ceremony, as was John Garang, the head of the Sudan People's Liberation Army. Under the agreement, he will soon become one of Mr. Bashir's vice presidents.

Also in attendance was President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, who committed assistance from his country and from the African Union to try to make the deal stick. "Africa begins the year 2005 on a very good footing," Mr. Mbeki said, adding, "Let's party!"

American officials said that bringing the southern rebels into the government could make it easier for Sudan to reach out to other rebel movements in the western part of the country.