The deadline for peace talks to end bloodshed in Sudan's western Darfur region has been extended by 48 hours, after rebels rejected a proposed deal to halt the fighting that has left tens of thousands of people dead.
Salim Ahmed Salim, a lead mediator for the African Union, said the talks would continue until midnight tomorrow, pushing back the deadline for talks that have gone on for two years but so far failed to halt the violence.
Earlier, the rebels called for changes to the deal - after the Sudanese government indicated it would accept the proposal.
Salim said the bloc had bowed to requests from the United States and others to continue negotiations.
"The African Union has extended the deadline of the peace talks by 48 hours as requested by the United States and other international partners to allow extensive consultations to go ahead," he said at the talks' site in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
Years of fighting between ethnic groups and Arab militias in western Sudan have left at least 180,000 people dead and about 2 million homeless.
AP