Sudanese Rebels Accept Peace Deal, Government Rejects It

Sudanese government officials say they will not sign an African Union security deal regarding the troubled western region of Darfur, but Sudanese rebels say they will accept the deal.

Officials balked at the deal early Friday at AU sponsored peace talks in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.

The Sudanese government says the deal favors the rebels. It objects to the rebel demand for a no-fly zone over Darfur and says the deal does not include the government's demand that the rebels be confined to their barracks.

An African Union spokesman calls the security package the best possible compromise.

The top U.N. official for Darfur, Jan Pronk, warned Thursday that the region could collapse into anarchy unless there is a greater world effort to stop the violence between pro-government militias and rebels.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.