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| Sudan 'releasing Darfur rebels' | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Sudan has begun to free 57 prisoners from one of the main Darfur rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), officials and witnesses say. | |
| Sudan's justice minister said the papers were "being processed", according to Reuters news agency. | |
| The releases are part of the ceasefire deal signed on Tuesday by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Jem. | |
| The deal raises hopes of an end to years of conflict in Darfur, however some rebel factions have not signed up. | The deal raises hopes of an end to years of conflict in Darfur, however some rebel factions have not signed up. |
| Jem's leader, Khalil Ibrahim, hailed the deal as "a very important step". | Jem's leader, Khalil Ibrahim, hailed the deal as "a very important step". |
| The rebels were detained after a surprise Jem raid on Omdurman, a city just across the River Nile from Khartoum, in 2008. | |
| More than 100 rebels were arrested. Most were sentenced to death and several have already been executed. | |
| The first group were set free just minutes after Justice Minister Abdel Basit Sabderat spoke, Reuters reports. | |
| He said the rest would be freed as negotiations continued. | |
| Under the deal, Jem rebels will be given a share of power "at all levels" in Sudan. | |
| Some 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million forced from their homes since rebels took up in arms in Darfur in 2003, according to UN estimates. |