[Al Arabiya Latest] Sudan and Darfur's main rebel group signed a ceasefire agreement on Tuesday, although any final peace deal will still need to be backed by other armed factions.Justice and Equality Movement leader Khalil Ibrahim said he and Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir signed the accord, which is due to take effect at midnight in Darfur.
Also present were the host, Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, as well as Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno and Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki.
Last-minute hitches had delayed the signing, a JEM spokesman told AFP, without saying what the problem was.
The 12-point provisional deal offered the JEM, long-seen as Darfur's most heavily armed rebel group, a power-sharing role in Sudan, where the first presidential and legislative polls in 24 years are to be held in April.
According to a French language copy of the framework agreement, JEM and Khartoum agreed to "the participation of the Justice and Equality Movement at all levels of government (executive, legislative, ...) in a manner to be agreed subsequently between the two parties."
The two sides agreed that the JEM would become "a political party as soon as the final agreement is signed between the two parties" by March 15, the fourth article of the document says.