(US Secretary of State Colin Powell (C), Sudan's Vice President Ali Osman Taha (L) and the country's main rebel leader John Garang in Nairobi on the eve of signing a final peace)

The Sudanese government and southern rebels have signed a final comprehensive peace accord in Nairobi, ending the 21-year-old civil war in southern Sudan, the longest-running in Africa.

This peace pact covers all the eight peace deals signed previously, including earlier agreed protocols on how to share power and natural wealth, what to do with armed forces during a six-year interim period, how to administer three disputed areas, and the latest on permanent ceasefire and modalities of implementing peace deals.

Many world leaders and heads of state came to witness the historic signing ceremony. Among the present are including Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Lu Guozeng and the US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

(Photo source: yahoo.com)

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