Nairobi — Ceasefire in the Sudan conflict has now been extended for two months, Foreign Affairs Minister Kalonzo Musyoka has revealed.

The minister said the decision to extend the ceasefire period which was to end this month is meant to give the leaders from the warring parties time to continue with their talks.

Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) leader John Garang and the Vice-President Ali Osman Taha have been meeting in Naivasha in an attempt to seal a pact to end Africa's longest civil war. The Minister was speaking when he made a brief appearance at the talks on Sunday evening at a Naivasha hotel.

Kalonzo was, however, non-committal on whether the two parties had reached a consensus on critical issues, adding there was no time-frame for the talks.

He announced that the peace talks have received overwhelming support from the international community. Garang and other SPLA leaders among them Riak Machar accompanied the minister, who is also the chairman of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad).

The talks have been bogged down by lack of consensus on the security arrangement during a proposed six-year transition period.

Sources said an agreement on security arrangements is key to the success of the talks as it is a major building block towards a comprehensive peace agreement.