AFP - The Sudanese government is close to signing a framework agreement for direct talks with a key rebel group that would end the worst fighting in Darfur, a spokesman said Saturday.

Ahmed Hussein, spokesman for the powerful Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), said the agreement would place issues such as the division of Darfur's natural resources and the safety of refugees on the agenda of direct talks that could begin Monday in Qatar.

"There will also be a ceasefire," added Hussein, whose group is the largest and most powerful of some 20 rebel factions in Darfur, and which has launched daring attacks against Sudanese cities and installations in 2008 and last year.

On Friday, Sudanese President Omar el-Beshir promised "good news" about Darfur, adding that an agreement with the JEM would end the devastating seven-year war in the troubled western region which has claimed some 300,000 lives and left 2.7 million refugees, according to UN figures.

"We must sign a framework agreement on the key points to be discussed in the negotiations, such as the division of riches and the safety and security of refugees," Hussein said by telephone from the Chadian capital of Ndjamena.

But a Sudanese Liberation Army faction led by exiled leader Abdelwahid Nur has held out on direct peace talks with Khartoum.

Thousands were forced to flee following recent clashes with SLA-Abdelwahid and pro-government forces in Jebel Marra, stronghold of the powerful rebels and a fertile region in the centre of Darfur.

Hussein said the agreement would be signed later Saturday in Ndjamena under the auspices of Chad's President Idress Deby Itno.

Chad and Sudan have had chaotic relations for the past five years, each accusing the other of supporting cross-border rebels.

However, their presidents hailed a meeting in Khartoum on February 8 and 9 as a breakthrough that had "completely turned the page" on relations, according to Beshir.

Beshir, who faces an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Darfur and is campaigning for re-election next month, is believed by some observers to be trying to seal a deal before the April 11 polls.