Sudan

A gathering of high-level international officials to Sudan, led by the head of the joint United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping operation in the country's war-torn Darfur region, on Saturday urged all armed groups involved in the conflict to join the peace process initiated earlier this week by Khartoum and a major rebel militia.

The International Criminal Court has described evidence against a Darfur rebel leader accused of an attack on African Union peacekeepers variously as "weak", "scant" and "unreliable."

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) has named a northern Muslim, Yasir Arman, as its candidate for the April presidential elections.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon used today's fifth anniversary of the peace pact that ended more than 20 years of civil war in Sudan to urge the parties to redouble their efforts towards reconciliation and the successful completion of remaining benchmarks.

The United States has condemned the Sudanese ruling party for introducing last-minute unilateral changes to the law under which southern Sudanese will vote on whether they want independence.

Officials from the ruling parties in Khartoum and Southern Sudan have reached an agreement on new legislation governing national elections next April as well as a later referendum on independence for the south, reports the Sudan Tribune.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced deep gratitude today on hearing of the release of two civilian staff members of the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) after more than 100 days in captivity in the war-torn western flank of Sudan.

As U.S. special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration defended the Barack Obama administration's new policy toward the war-torn country on Capitol Hill Thursday, NGOs and a U.N. official reacted with disappointment and impatience.