Sudan's foreign minister says his government is ready for unconditional talks with the exiled opposition, a first step toward ending the seventeen- year civil war that has convulsed the North African country. Similar statements have been issued before, but this one may be more serious.
Analysts say a split in Sudan's leadership has opened the way for change.
VOA's Ed Warner reports their views of the longstanding conflict. Just end the war in Sudan, says John Voll. Everything depends on that - stopping human rights abuses and the slave trade, reviving the economy and averting famine, reconciling north and south Sudan and establishing, if not democracy, at least a more humane regime. Despite outside help, including some from the United States, the southern rebels cannot win. Neither can the government in Khartoum.