Sudan's government and southern rebels have signed an agreement promising to end the nation's 21-year civil war by the end of the year.
A Sudanese government official and a negotiator from the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement put the December 31 deadline in writing Friday, at a rare meeting of the United Nations Security Council in Nairobi, Kenya.
Council members passed a resolution Friday urging Sudan's government and southern rebels to make peace and linking future development aid to a comprehensive accord.
The resolution also called for an end to the 21-month-old conflict between the government and a separate rebel group in Darfur, which has left more than a million people displaced.
