The Read International For 2/23/10: A Beginning Of The End For The Darfur Disaster?

Action in Qatar could spell the possible end of one of Earth's darkest conflicts (Photo from EPA)

Could the enormous conflict that has received major international attention be on the precipise of ending?

Sudan's largest opposition group is set to sign a peace deal with the government that could end the conflict in Darfur.

Documents setting out the terms of the deal, to be signed in Qatar on Tuesday, appear to offer government positions for the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), the Reuters news agency reported.

The documents are the first concrete sign that Khartoum is prepared to share power with the group.

A major reason for this potential deal is because of upcoming elections and pressure throughout the world to end the human ugliness that has transpired for seven long years. But there is still a ways to go before that ultimate result becomes reality:

But officials warned a March 15 deadline for a final peace deal was overly ambitious.

"After the agreement is signed, the rest will come through more negotiations," said Adrees Mahmoud, a Europe-based Jem representative, who was in Qatar for the signing.

El Sadig el-Faqih, a former adviser to Sudan's president, who was also in Qatar, told Al Jazeera the move was a "framework to start discussing the details" and a peace deal could only go ahead when all parties were involved.

"It is essential for all parties to be part of it and I think the mediators are working diligently to realise this fact ... it is important to include everybody," he said.

"It is a framework, it is not the final peace agreement yet."

Darfur's other main armed group, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), is refusing to talk to the government, demanding an end to all violence before negotiations begin.

The war criminal that is Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir is there for the signature today. As the Al Jazeera article explained, al-Bashir can't be arrested since Qatar is not apart of the International Criminal Court. The ICC charged this intolerable figure with crimes against humanity at The Hague in 2008, but they dropped the term "genocide" for al-Bashir's crimes that same year.

We'll see what happens with this story.

A milestone that will not be celebrated by anyone has been reached in Afghanistan. There now has been 1,000 U.S. soldiers killed since the war started in 2001. I wish that AP article through displayed the number of civilian casualties as well.

And in more fresh Afghanistan news, the latest big name Taliban figure to be captured has been taken to the eastern part of that country. Mullah Abbdul Kabir was arrested by Pakistan authorities according to a Pakistani official, though American officials couldn't confirm it at the time.

Just like the arrest of Abdul Ghani Baradar last week, it is paramount for the United States to make sure that Pakistani officials do not torture Kabir. Doing so would destroy all the good work of capturing both individuals in the first place.

And in a refreshing light moment for this thread, the Dali Lama was asked about Tiger Woods yesterday. His reply: Who?

Your read international thread for the moment.