Sudan agrees to "historic" talks on Darfur-Egeland

KHARTOUM, Nov 18 (Reuters) An agreement to hold renewed talks among all parties to Darfur's conflict brings a historic opportunity to end fighting which has killed 200,000, the UN humanitarian chief today said.

''We have now a historic moment of opportunity as in Addis Ababa ... we saw an agreement come out for a renewed political effort to settle this man-made disaster,'' UN humanitarian coordinator Jan Egeland told reporters in Khartoum.

A meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Thursday agreed that a May peace deal signed by only one of three rebel factions was inadequate and a new process should be activated under joint leadership of the UN and African Union (AU).

The Sudan government and the rebel group which signed the May deal -- a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) -- have so far refused any changes to the accord.

Egeland said there was also agreement in Addis on an effective force to protect civilians, which an African Union force has failed to do, citing lack of equipment and a weak mandate.

''(We have) an effort to have for the first time a credible force on the ground that could protect the civilian population and protect the humanitarian population,'' he said.

The meeting was attended by senior officials from around the world, including from the AU, European Union, Arab League and the Security Council.

A meeting of all the parties to the conflict should be arranged in the coming weeks, a statement released after the Addis meeting said.

But analysts were more sceptical. ''Not very much has been actually agreed as yet -- all the key questions in terms of forces, mandate and participation of U.N. troops remain unclear,'' said Dave Mozersky of the think tank International Crisis Group. ''It doesn't sound like the major breakthrough everyone was hoping for.'' MORE REUTERS SY PM0007