CAIRO - Sudan will continue peace talks with the most powerful Darfur rebel group beyond Monday's deadline for an agreement.

Sudanese presidential adviser Mustafa Osman Ismail says the government will hold more talks with the rebel Justice and Equality Movement in the capitals of Chad and Qatar to try to reach a final deal.

Violence in Darfur has declined dramatically since the height of the bloodshed. An estimated 300,000 people lost their lives to violence, disease and displacement in fighting that began in 2003 between ethnic African rebels and the Arab-dominated government.

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Fighting erupted in Somalia's capital for the third straight day Friday in some of the worst violence in nearly a year, as government-backed troops shelled the front lines of rebels trying to advance into government-held territory.

Mogadishu's mayor warned residents to flee the fighting, which is expected to intensify in coming weeks after the government launches a long-awaited offensive against Islamist insurgents.

Fighting erupted in Somalia's capital for the third straight day Friday in some of the worst violence in nearly a year, as government-backed troops shelled the front lines of rebels trying to advance into government-held territory.

Mogadishu's mayor warned residents to flee the fighting, which is expected to intensify in coming weeks after the government launches a long-awaited offensive against Islamist insurgents.

DILI, East Timor (AP) - A court in East Timor convicted and sentenced 24 rebels Wednesday to up to 16 years in prison over the attempted assassinations of the fledgling democracy's president and prime minister.

Another four defendants were acquitted following a seven-month trial on charges of conspiracy and attempted murder that ended last month.

President Jose Ramos-Horta nearly died of gunshot wounds received in an attack in his Dili compound on Feb. 11, 2008, and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao narrowly escaped unharmed from an ambush of his motorcade later that day.

Iran's most prominent rebel Sunni movement, Jundullah, has named a new leader to replace Abdolmalek Rigi, following his capture by security forces earlier this week.

According to the SITE monitoring agency on Sunday,

Muhammad Dhahir Baluch was appointed to head "the People's Resistance Movement in Iran".

Rigi, Iran's most wanted fugitive, was seized on Tuesday after Iranian warplanes reportedly forced a flight from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan to land in Iran.

khartoum (reuters) - sudan's army clashed with darfur rebels the same day the country's president declared the region's war over after a ceasefire with another insurgent force, rebels said on thursday. french aid group medecins du monde

khartoum, sudan-sudan released 57 darfur rebels on wednesday, including 50 who had been sentenced to death, under a new truce agreement between the government and the most country's powerful rebel group. the leader of the most powerful rebel group

sudan has started to release 57 men held over an attack on the capital in 2008 by a rebel group a day after signing a preliminary peace deal with the group. the deal between khartoum and the justice and equality movement (jem) ratified in qatar

in a rapprochement between the government and the justice and equality movement (jem) group since a deal that promised government posts to the rebels was ratified in qatar on tuesday. scores of people gathered outside kober prison in khartoum north

khartoum (reuters) - sudan's justice minister said 57 men linked to a darfur rebel attack on the sudanese capital in 2008 would be freed on wednesday, after khartoum signed a preliminary peace pact with the group. the first of those to be freed

DOHA/KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir signed a ceasefire deal with the main Darfur rebel group on Tuesday that is intended to lead to a broader peace deal, a Reuters witness at the signing ceremony said.

Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, whose country sponsored talks leading to the deal, said Qatar would contribute $1 billion to a fund to reconstruct Sudan.

Darfur's most powerful rebel group and the Sudanese government signed a truce on Tuesday after a year of internationally sponsored negotiations, and the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, said he hoped a full peace agreement would be reached by mid-March. The international sponsors of the talks also announced a $1 billion development fund for the war-ravaged region. Khalil Ibrahim of the Justice and Equality Movement and Mr. Bashir embraced after the signing. The next challenge for the mediators will be persuading the dozens of other rebel splinter groups to join the process. Previous cease-fires and partial peace deals have been short-lived.

Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, whose country sponsored talks leading to the deal, said Qatar would contribute $1 billion to a fund to reconstruct Sudan.

Khartoum will offer Darfur's most powerful rebel group government posts as part of a future peace deal to end fighting in western Sudan, according to documents setting out the terms of negotiations.

As well as the immediate ceasefire, the agreement includes an outline deal on the sharing of power "at all levels", which means the rebels will be offered seats in the Khartoum government.

DOHA, Qatar, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and a main Darfur rebel group said Tuesday they have reached agreement on a framework for a cease-fire.

Described as a power-sharing agreement brokered by neighboring Chad, the deal with the Justice and Equality Movement, signed in Qatar, is regarded as a significant step toward peace in Sudan -- although the nation's other main rebel group has declined to participate in talks -- the BBC reported.

DOHA: Sudan and Darfur's main rebel group signed a ceasefire agreement and a framework accord for a final peace deal on Tuesday, which 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 (2100 GMT).

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.

CAIRO - A truce to be signed Tuesday by Sudan's government and the most powerful rebel group in Darfur has raised hopes that seven years of devastating war will finally come to an end.

Dramatically improved ties between Sudan and Chad gave a major boost to the accord because the two countries had once accused each other of supporting the other's rebels. And Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir faces war crimes accusations abroad and an election in April, making him eager for some kind of breakthrough to improve his image abroad and at home.

The news that Darfur rebel leaders are to sign a deal with the Sudanese government, with a view to a final peace agreement by the middle of next month, is a step in the right direction. For too long the Justice and Equality Movement has been one of the key drivers of violence in Sudan's troubled western region. And for too long government Antonovs have bombed villages as they searched for rebel targets.

N'DJAMENA, Chad -- Darfur's most powerful rebel group has initialed a truce with the Sudanese government, officials said yesterday, marking the rebel group's return to peace talks aimed at ending the conflict in the western Sudan region.

The truce between the rebel Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudanese government takes effect immediately, said Idriss Deby, Chad's president.

Rebel spokesman Ahmed Hussein said the deal was a framework agreement to guide future peace negotiations, including talks on a permanent cease-fire. He said it will be formally signed in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.

(CNN) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's government will formally sign next week a framework agreement for a cease-fire with rebels in Sudan's volatile Darfur region, a rebel representative and state media said Saturday.

Dr. Tahir al-Fati, chairman of the rebel group Justice and Equality Movement's legislative assembly, told CNN that a preliminary document for the framework agreement was signed Saturday in Chad between representatives of the two sides.

KHARTOUM, Sudan (Reuters) - Sudan's government signed an agreement with the main Darfur rebel group on Saturday that will help resolve the conflict in the region, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said.

The rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, said the agreement reached in Ndjamena, Chad, was not a final peace deal but set out the terms for negotiations that could still fail if the group's leaders saw signs of bad faith from the Sudanese government in Khartoum.