Sudan, rebels agree to peace talks

DOHA, Qatar, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Arab mediators say Sudan will have talks with rebels from the country's Darfur region in an attempt to end a six-year uprising there.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jasim bin Jabr al-Thani told SUNA, Qatar's official news agency, that Sudanese President Omar Bashir has agreed to embark on talks with representatives of Darfur's Justice and Equality Movement, CNN reported Tuesday.

JEM had initially been left out of Bashir's agreement in November to an unconditional cease-fire in Darfur. The United Nations says about 300,000 people have died there in a genocide engineered by Sudan's Muslim rulers against the region's black African civilian population, part of a counterinsurgency campaign against JEM.

Hamad said Sudan and the rebel group would sign a preliminary agreement on confidence-building measures Tuesday to be followed by detailed talks in two weeks, CNN reported.