KHARTOUM, Sudan, April 30 (UPI) -- African Union negotiators have given the warring parties in Sudan's Darfur region another 48 hours to reach agreement on a peace deal.
The original deadline passed Sunday, the BBC reported.
"If we walk away from here without a peace deal, the world will not forgive us," the AU's chief negotiator Salim Ahmed Salim said. "I urge the parties to reflect in the next 48 hours on how to breach the existing gap."
An estimated 200,000 people have died and some 2 million have been left homeless since the conflict began in the province in 2003.
While the Sudanese government has agreed to sign the AU-backed agreement, which calls for pro-government Arab militias to be disarmed and rebel fighters merged into Sudan's forces, two rebel groups have rejected the deal as it stands.
The BBC said the extension came after a request from U.S. officials for more time for the parties to resolve outstanding issues.
