Evelyn Leopold, Reuters
 Sudan's government and southern rebels committed themselves yesterday to ending Africa's longest civil war by Dec. 31, signing a pledge in front of 15 UN Security Council ambassadors at an extraordinary meeting.
| This has worked every time they've done it, right? |
After the signing ceremony, the Security Council, meeting away from its New York home for the first time in 14 years, unanimously adopted a resolution promising political and substantial economic support once Sudan ended two wars that have left millions dead in the south and in Darfur in the west. With the council's ambassadors as witnesses, the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) signed a document declaring "their commitment" to complete a final accord by Dec. 31 and end 21 years of war in the oil-producing south of Africa's biggest country. Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha and southern rebel leader John Garang, the main peace negotiators for the two sides, have made similar, failed pledges over the past year.
| But this time it's different. Why's it different? |
But this time they did it on paper before the Security Council, whose members tried to dispel skepticism over the deal and criticism of the UN's handling of the Darfur crisis. |