Darfur talks in London

London will host peace talks on Darfur if British diplomats succeed in persuading the Sudanese government to meet rebel groups.

Officials have been in contact with the Khartoum regime and militia factions with a view to arrange a summit "as soon as practicable".

Downing Street revealed details of the negotiations on Sunday, as activists in 30 countries prepared to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the bloody conflict in the region.

A group of children from the province were expected to meet International Development minister Shahid Malik, while protesters gathered outside the Sudanese embassy in London.

The Global Day for Darfur, organised by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Save Darfur Coalition, is being supported by celebrities including George Clooney.

The Hollywood star met Prime Minister Gordon Brown earlier this week to discuss the crisis.

He said: "Today, on the fifth Global Day for Darfur, the eyes of the world are rightly focused on the millions of men, women and children in the region who continue to start each day with the fear of violence, abduction, rape or death.

"Already two hundred thousand people have died, two million have been displaced and four million are surviving on international aid.

"And the effects on children of the violence in Darfur have been nothing short of devastating: one million children have been forced to flee their homes and now live in crowded camps in need of basic food and water; two million children depend on humanitarian aid to survive; and half of all children are not receiving any education."

"Five years is more than enough for anyone to have to live with the sort of suffering that the people of Darfur have had to endure."

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