Sudan's government and rebel groups will start talks on October 27 in Libya to push for peace in violence-torn Darfur before 26,000 peacekeepers deploy there, the United Nations and Khartoum announced on Thursday.
The talks, to which some eight rebel groups are expected to be invited, will be mediated by UN and African Union special envoys, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a news conference after a three-day visit to Sudan.
The choice of Libya as a venue came as a surprise as Tanzania had earlier been seen as the most likely venue. Ban and other UN officials said it reflected Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's role in trying to unify Darfur rebel groups.
A joint UN-Sudanese statement said the United Nations "expresses the hope that parties will cooperate fully" with UN and AU mediators Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim, and that Khartoum had pledged to participate "constructively".