Sudan's government and main rebel group agreed during peace talks Sunday to extend a ceasefire between the two warring sides by two months.
The announcement of the ceasefire extension was made by Kenyan Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka.
He is mediating peace talks in the Kenyan town of Naivasha between Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha and the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) John Garang.
The talks are aimed at ending 20 years of civil war. The rebels took up arms in 1983 in a bid to obtain autonomy for the largely animist and Christian south from the mostly Arab and Muslim north.
The current truce had been due to expire on September 30. The two sides signed a broad peace agreement last year but have yet to work out the details.