ABUJA, November 9 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The Sudanese government and two rebel groups from the war torn region of Darfur signed Tuesday, November 9, two accords to demilitarize their conflict and ensure the safety of 1.5 million displaced people.

At a ceremony in the Nigerian capital Abuja overseen by the African Union's current chairman, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, the two parties gave their long-delayed assent to the so-called humanitarian and security protocols, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Sudanese Agriculture Minister Majzoub Al-Khalifa inked the deals on behalf of his government, while the leaders of the rebel Sudanese Liberation Movement and Justice and Equality Movement, Minni Arkou and Mohammad Tugod also signed.

The deals commit both parties to halt all hostile operations in the Darfur region of western Sudan -- including military overflights -- and to enhancing the protection of the area's 1.5 million displaced civilians.

The signature marks the first major breakthough of the African Union-led Abuja talks process, which is designed to bring to an end a bloody regional conflict which has lasted 20 months.

The AU has been trying for several days to break a deadlock over the thorny question of security. In the latest setback, Khartoum had refused to join the rebels in signing a protocol which includes a clause to create a "no-fly zone" over Darfur.

The peace talks which opened in the Nigerian capital Abuja last August 21, has suffered several adjournments.

African leaders have invested a lot of hope and energy in promoting the Abuja conference as a way for the continent to halt the Darfur conflict before the UN Security Council again addresses the crisis on November 18.

A UN team began work in Khartoum Monday, November 9, investigating allegations of genocide against the Sudanese government as ethnic minority rebels accused the army and its Arab militia allies of destroying the evidence of mass graves in Darfur.

The UN team is headed by Antonio Cassesse of Italy. Its other members are Mohammad Fayek of Egypt, Diego Garcia-Sayan of Peru, Hina Gilani of Pakistan and Therese Striggner-Scott of Ghana.