DOHA/KHARTOUM, (Reuters) – Sudanese President Omar  Hassan al-Bashir signed a ceasefire deal with the main Darfur  rebel group yesterday that is intended to lead to a broader  peace deal, a Reuters witness at the signing ceremony said.

Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, whose  country sponsored talks leading to the deal, said Qatar would  contribute $1 billion to a fund to reconstruct Sudan.

Khartoum will offer Darfur’s most powerful rebel group  government posts as part of a future peace deal to end fighting  in western Sudan, according to documents setting out the terms  of negotiations that were seen by Reuters.

The documents were the first concrete sign that Khartoum is  prepared to share power with its bitter foe in Darfur — a  development that could alienate existing allies there and  complicate preparations for April elections.

Rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement played down the  chances of reaching a final peace pact by March 15, as outlined  in the framework deal for peace talks signed in Doha, capital  of Qatar, the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas exporter.

“We are working to meet the March 15 deadline, but that  itself is not a requirement,” said chief JEM negotiator Ahmed  Tugud, one of those who later signed the agreement.

“We are trying to move forward, at least. It has been a  long time since we’ve had a direct dialogue (with the  government). We believe it is the right time to start,” he told  Reuters.

Another rebel official said the deadline was unrealistic,  and rebels reported fresh violence in Darfur two days after an  initial version of the framework peace deal was inked in Chad.

The initial framework included a ceasefire, plans to  integrate the JEM into Sudan’s army and a promise to reach a  final peace deal by March 15. Yesterday’s event was billed as the  “official signing.”

According to a French-language copy of the framework  accord, the JEM and Khartoum agreed to “the participation of  the Justice and Equality Movement at all levels of government  … in a manner to be agreed subsequently between the two  parties.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s press office issued a  statement welcoming the deal, saying it was “an important step  towards an inclusive and comprehensive peace agreement for  Darfur, which will address the underlying causes of the  conflict and the concerns of all Darfurian communities.”

It added that Ban hoped all provisions of the agreement  would be fully implemented.

It is a year since Khartoum and the JEM met in Doha to  agree to confidence-building measures designed to pave the way  for the framework agreement and then full peace talks.

That process stalled after the JEM accused Khartoum of  attacking its positions days after the ceasefire and of failing  to carry out agreed measures, including freeing JEM captives.

JEM rebels, widely thought to control the biggest military  insurgent force in Darfur, said on Tuesday they had been  attacked by government forces on Monday in violation of the  truce but would press on with signing the peace framework.

Sudan’s army denied being involved in clashes with the JEM,  which carried out an unprecedented attack on Khartoum in 2008,  and the rebel report was not confirmed by independent sources.